A London municipality’s electric refuse collection vehicle – ‘The eRCV project’

ABSTRACT

In June 2018, a consortium of partners comprising Magnetic Systems Technology, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and DG Cities Limited, unveiled a repowered, 26-tonne end-of-operational-life diesel Refuse Collection Vehicle converted to be fully electric. The vehicle is now operating alongside its diesel counterparts in Greenwich as part of the Royal Borough’s waste management fleet. The initiative was made possible with funding from Innovate UK (the UK Government’s innovation agency) and what makes the initiative distinctive is that it was the first conversion of a full-sized vehicle in the UK. The project shows that repowered, end of life, electric Refuse Collection Vehicles offer a viable alternative to diesel powered vehicles to reduce noise within urban areas, whilst maintaining a high-quality and efficient service that is essential to the city (and other areas). It also provides a number of other benefits to the city, offering an alternative vehicle which is of lower cost over its lifetime than its diesel counterparts, produces zero-emissions and supports the principles of a circular economy, by re-using valuable resources.

KEYWORDS:

• e-vehicles
• waste management
• circular economy
• noise pollution
• air pollution
• health
• innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Innovate UK under Grant Number 103260.

Notes on contributors

Helen Steiger

Helen Steiger is experienced in urban climate action, sustainability, strategy, communications and project management within the private sector. She is project manager of the eRCV project for DG Cities.