Some cities, like Indianapolis and Houston, are developing systems that would collect garbage and recyclables together and separating them before they get to the landfill. That means using the same type of trucks to haul garbage and recyclable materials. “You can conserve fuel by more efficient technologies, but you can also conserve it by narrowing the types of services you offer and the frequency,” he said. Instead, O’Brien said, public waste haulers are finding simpler ways to save money. “Nobody wants to be the first on the block to try them, especially in local government,” he said. But O’Brien, the SWANA researcher, said local officials typically shy away from new technologies.

Miami-Dade County received several guarantees from Parker when the county bought the first hybrid prototypes, Diaz said. The company is also developing a hydraulic hybrid that uses natural gas instead of diesel as its second fuel source. The Parker hybrids are also used by the cities of Miami, Orlando and Tacoma, Washington, among others. “It’s not new technology anymore for us,” Diaz said. Thirty-five of the county’s 200 side-loading garbage trucks are now RunWise hybrids, which are sold by Parker Hannifin. The brakes on garbage trucks usually must be replaced several times a year, but the hybrids, because they use a separate braking system to recapture energy, only need replacements once in the life of the truck, which is usually about seven years. The hybrids also save money on brake replacements.

“That’s any eye opener for anybody in this line of business,” Diaz said. Danny Diaz, the fleet manager for the county’s Public Works and Waste Management department, said the hybrid trucks reduce fuel consumption by 40 to 45 percent. What that means is that during the stop-and-start pickup cycle, the trucks run mainly on stored brake energy. Once the truck is moving, though, brake energy is stored in the tanks. The trucks, which store energy using liquid tanks, use a diesel motor to charge the tanks when the truck is first turned on and also to travel at speeds faster than 45 mph. Miami-Dade County, though, has been using hydraulic hybrids for the last four years. Electric hybrids, for example, require batteries that would be so heavy they could offset the fuel savings. So far hybrids are only used by a handful of cities, because the technology is still being honed. With all the stops their routes, garbage trucks are especially well-suited for those technologies. The idea is to capture the energy that is normally lost when the garbage trucks brake, store it and use it to propel the truck later. Hybrid vehicles can also reduce fuel costs and greenhouse gas pollution.

“You get what we call a triple bottom-line benefit: people, planet, profit,” said Geoff Apthorp, vice president of engineering and business development at Environmental Solutions Group, a solid waste equipment company. Bacteria breaks down organic waste to produce the methane, which is then filtered and compressed for use in the trucks. The average price of a diesel gallon equivalent is about $2.11.Īnd, in some places, garbage trucks can run on the methane captured from the same landfills where they drop off their payloads. Natural gas prices have plummeted since the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unlocked huge reserves of natural gas throughout the United States and Canada. The trucks themselves can also cost $30,000 more than their basic diesel counterparts (pollution controls can also add costs to diesel trucks).īut the savings for natural gas vehicles add up quickly. A fleet’s maintenance facilities have to be upgraded to prevent stray sparks from igniting an explosion. The priciest component is installing a natural gas fueling station, which depending on its size, can cost up to $2 million. Natural gas trucks can save on fuel costs, but the up-front costs are significant.

Yellow garbage truck