Leeds Council buys three electric refuse trucks
Each truck has three battery packs with a total energy content of 36 kWh. They will be charged overnight at the depot at Newmarket House. Daimler Truck specifies that the eEconic 300 can be recharged in 75 minutes from 20 to 80 per cent SoC at the DC charger with 160 kW.
However, it is not clear what charging infrastructure is installed at the depot. According to earlier information, there are 20 electric charging points for refuse trucks and 22 charging points for the services fleet of vans.
As the new trucks are refuse collection vehicles, the Mercedes-Benz eEconic 300 chassis has been fitted with 22 m3 Variopress compactor bodies and Rotary 3 bin lifters. These are supplied by refuse collection vehicle specialist FAUN Zoeller UK, while the chassis comes from local Dealer Northside Truck & Van, which will also be in charge of maintenance and technical support.
“Leeds has chosen to be one of the pioneers driving forward the use of electric domestic refuse collection vehicles. Our three new fully electric RCV’s will be targeted to areas of the city that have the greatest air quality issues and where operating a cleaner, greener and quieter service will have the most impact,” said Chief Environmental Services Officer John Woolmer. “Collecting domestic waste and recycling with these new electric trucks will mean that over 45 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be saved per year.”
Leeds is not the first town to opt for an eEconic as a refuse collection vehicle. Danish company Urbaser runs eEonic trucks to collect waste in Copenhagen and Vejle, a town in Jutland, for example. And in 2023, it added another five units to its fleet in Aarhus. It is also used in Germany.
Since the eEconic was designed for refuse collection from the get-go, the driver’s cab has been positioned lower than in the long-haul truck, and entry and exit have also been kept lower. There is room for up to four people in the cab.
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