Commerce becomes largest Colorado city to electrify its garbage fleet

This week, Commerce City, Colorado officials announced a big step towards decarbonizing its municipal operations with the launch of an all-new, all-electric residential recycling and garbage collection fleet, which is being deployed on the city’s streets as I type this.

Operating under heavy loads, in stop-and-go conditions, at low speeds, and on a predictable route, electric vehicles are well-suited to waste collection applications – especially in cities, where the average day’s work happens in well under 100 miles of driving. On top of that, their quiet power means residents with young kids and light sleepers are far less likely to be woken up at 0-dark-thirty by a rogue garbage truck driver with a Jake Brake fetish.

Commerce City officials have made significant investments in EV charging infrastructure, adding a number of DC fast charging stations to Republic Services’ Commerce City facility in support tof he goals outlined in Commerce City’s long-term Sustainability Action Plan.

They’re not alone

Commerce City, CO joins other cities like Chicago, Louisville, and Madison in adding electric refuse vehicles to their fleets – an effort spearheaded by stakeholders like Republic Services, McNeilus – who manufacture the electric trucks – the local utilities who are supporting this effort with both electrons and incentive cash, and, of course, the people of those cities who voted in the leaders making it all possible.

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“We are so proud that Louisville will be the first city in the nation with a fully electric collection fleet,” said Mayor Chris Leh, at the launch of their fleet last October. “These innovative EV collection trucks will fulfill our trash, compost and recycling needs, reduce noise pollution, and include larger windshields to increase each driver’s field of vision and lower greenhouse gas emissions, making our neighborhoods quieter, safer and healthier.”

As for the trucks themselves, the Commerce City fleet includes the McNeilus Volterra ZSL shown, above. Co-developed with insights from Republic Services, these trucks feature 360-degree cameras, an enlarged windshield for improved visibility, lane-departure sensors, automated emergency braking, and audible devices that alert nearby drivers and pedestrians to compensate for their quieter operations.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Commerce City.

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