ALTERNATIVE THINKING
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Down South, Veolia is now testing a hybrid Volvo RCV with a standard-height cab on refuse collection work in the City of Westminster with a body constructed by Geesink Norba.
Its compactor, bin-lifts and tipping mechanism are all electrically powered from a separate battery pack mounted behind the cab.
This means the diesel engine can be switched off while these functions are being used, slashing fuel consumption. noise levels and CO2 emissions. A similar truck deployed in Gothenburg, Sweden, by waste management specialist Renova is showing fuel savings of up to 35% says Volvo.
The trouble with this sort of technology, of course, is that so few people are prepared to pay the extra for it," Thoday observes.
He continues: "There's also the drawback with, for example, gas-fuelled vehicles that they can be 1.2 tonnes to 1.3 tonnes heavier than the equivalent diesel model. That affects their payload capacity; so you need more of them.'