Colorado city launches country's first EV garbage and recycling truck fleet

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Louisville, Colorado is the first city in the nation to fully convert its fleet of garbage and recycling trucks to battery-electrics.
City of Louisville

Louisville, Colorado has put itself on the map for being the first city in the country to fully convert its fleet of garbage and recycling trucks to battery-electrics. 

Located in Boulder County, just 30 minutes northwest of Denver, Louisville held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week to mark the occasion. The vehicles include four McNeilus Volterra ZSLs, which were developed with input from Republic Services, a waste disposal company that's been testing electrified garbage trucks elsewhere in the country. Last summer, it made a commitment to have Louisville's fleet up and running by year's end. 

[Related: Emterra Environmental's Mack LR Electrics hit the streets]

“We are so proud that Louisville will be the first city in the nation with a fully electric collection fleet. 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,” Mayor Chris Leh said, per The Denver Gazette.

Republic contracted with the city for the past five years. During the last contract renewal negotiations, Republic offered to convert the existing fleet to EVs and the city agreed. Republic remains the owner and operator of the vehicles. 

Louisville previously set climate goals for itself, among them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from city vehicles and continue to support greater public EV adoption. The decision to convert the garbage trucks to EVs, when given the option, was a no-brainer. 

Republic gave the city two options: one for electric vehicles, another for natural gas-powered vehicles. Louisville chose the former for cost reasons. 

“The city put out a request for proposals to identify the cost difference between a renewable natural gas service fleet and an electric vehicle service fleet,” said Grace Johnson, Louisville's communications manager. “The city received two qualified proposals with the electric fleet providing the overall lowest cost.”

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According to Electrek, each truck comes equipped with vital safety features, such as 360-degree cameras, automated emergency braking, lane departure sensors, larger windshields for greater visibility, and audible devices to alert pedestrians and other drivers of the trucks' presence (due to their silent electric motors). 

Jay Traugott has covered the automotive and transportation sector for over a decade and now serves as Senior Editor for Clean Trucking. He holds a drifting license and has driven on some of the world's best race tracks, including the Nurburgring and Spa. He lives near Boulder, Colorado, and spends his free time snowboarding, climbing, and hiking. He can be reached at [email protected].

Hydrogen Fuel Cell & BEV Survey
The following survey was sent as a link in an email cover message in February 2023 to the newsletter lists for Overdrive and CCJ. After approximately two weeks, a total of 176 owner-operators under their own authority, 113 owner-operators leased or assigned to a carrier and 82 fleet executives and 36 fleet employees from fleets with 10 or more power units had completed and submitted the questionnaire for a total of 407 qualified responses. Cross-tabulations based on respondent type are provided for each question when applicable.
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