Waste Management moves towards electric cars, waste trucks

Waste Management’s national fleet moves towards electric cars and waste collection trucks on NZ roads

Company will put EV (electric vehicle) waste collection trucks on New Zealand roads – and draw on electricity generated from waste

Auckland, 8 September 2016: Waste Management NZ, which runs one of the country’s largest fleets of trucks and cars, is moving toward electric vehicles as part of an ongoing sustainability commitment, the company announced today.

Waste Management marked the transition to greater use of EVs by charging six cars in its light fleet at its Redvale Energy Park landfill, where power is generated from the waste the company collects.

Waste Management runs over 200 cars and 800 trucks across New Zealand.

It now has its first diesel trucks being converted to electric with world leading electric mobility integrator EMOSS in The Netherlands. The company will evaluate their performance once they are on the road here in New Zealand as part of their long term plan to move to EV trucks.

It also plans to progressively shift to EV cars over the next five years as the leases expire on their light vehicle fleet and new EVs enter the New Zealand market.

Currently the company generates electricity from the gas it captures at its modern, sustainable landfill and energy parks.

Tom Nickels, Waste Management NZ Managing Director, said combining EVs with the ability to generate power from waste was an example of a sustainable “circular economy” in action.

“Sustainability is what we do. From recycling, to generating energy from waste, managing hazardous materials and making compost from green and food waste, we play an integral role in the sustainability of our communities and our economy.

“With a large fleet of trucks and cars on the road we have been investigating for some time how we can reduce transport emissions and help safeguard our environment for future generations through adoption of electric vehicle technology.

“I am pleased at our progress to date and am looking forward to our first collections with electric trucks just months away.”

The company captures 95% of gas emissions from landfill, putting enough power back into the national grid to power 18,000 homes.

Modern landfill technology holds all waste in a fully sealed environment, meaning it captures the naturally emitted gas from the waste as it digests anaerobically. It is then fed into generators to create power. The Redvale facility is Auckland’s largest renewable energy generator.

The company also produces 60,000 tonnes of compost from green and food waste through their Living Earth brand.

The first waste collection truck to be trialled will be a box body which will appear on Auckland streets later this year. The first familiar side-loader waste collection truck –used for residential curb-side wheelie bin collections – is expected to go into use in Auckland as soon as Christmas with another planned for Christchurch in early 2017.

ENDS

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