Recycling garbage is a major ecological battleground, and people are becoming more aware of how garbage is dealt with. However, it’s seldom forgotten how garbage is gathered in the first place. This is where Republic Services enters the picture. The firm intends to greatly improve its electric truck fleet to help the ecological collection of garbage. This change is comparable to the implementation of hydrogen aircraft.
Republic Services is a US-based nationwide leader in the environmental service industry, priding itself as the country’s “fifth largest vocational fleet, with 17,000 trucks”. The company already has electric trucks operating in two states.
Building electric waste collection trucks
Republic Services is teaming up with their long-time provider of truck bodies for waste collection, Oshkosh Corporation, to produce the new electric trucks. In addition to being electric, the company plans for the trucks to have improved ergonomics and safety features.
To do this, the company will provide insights to Oshkosh’s engineers in improving the interior. This also includes redesigning the chassis and body as a single unit. In addition, the truck will also have “an enlarged windshield for improved visibility, 360-degree cameras, lane-departure sensors and automated braking.”
Since waste collection trucks operate the same routes each day, they are especially well-suited for becoming electric-powered. After all, the trucks will also have a base where they can charge. The goal of Republic Services is to “reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030”, and the implementation of electric trucks is a step closer to that.
Thanks to this new design and the switch to electric, the gradual change from the former trucks to the new ones will mean a lot in terms of decarbonization. As garbage trucks operate every day, this switch will have a very positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.
Photo credits: The images used are owned by Republic Services and have been provided for press usage.
Source: PR Newswire
