Electric refuse truck trial success

A Class 6 battery-electric refuse truck developed by BYD and Wayne Engineering has been used in a four-month trial with Los Angeles Sanitation (LASAN).

During the four-month pilot, the truck logged over 8368km, and achieved an average range of nearly 160km.

Operating on the same routes and variable terrain as LASAN’s regular trucks, the e-garbage truck delivered up to four tonnes daily to the landfill, all on a single charge, with no major mechanical or performance issues.

“We’ve been designing and manufacturing innovative equipment for the waste management sector for half a century,” Wayne Engineering chief executive officer Kevin Watje says.

“And that has all been a build-up to this project, bringing cutting-edge electric technology to refuse hauling, which can easily be a zero-emission operation.”

BYD set out to prove its battery-electric refuse trucks reliably achieve 160km of range in everyday operating conditions, BYD Heavy Industries senior vice-president Macy Neshati says.

“We achieved that goal with a record-breaking 99 miles (159km) per charge over a four-month timeframe.

“This demonstration with LA Sanitation proves to other municipal refuse fleets that electrification is possible today.”