Waste Management launches electric rubbish truck

Rubbish morning will get a whole lot quieter for a lucky route in Christchurch this month when Waste Management launches its first electric kerbside collection truck.

The company's fleet contracted to the Christchurch City Council is the first to receive the kerbside electric truck, which will officially start work next month.

The Kiwi company is committed to turning the majority of its 800-strong fleet to electric vehicles, but faced particular challenge when it came to trucks.

"No one sells them," Waste Management managing director Tom Nickels told the Herald.

Instead, the company had to repurpose vehicles themselves, enlisting the help of Netherlands firm EMOSS.

It was expensive shipping trucks to the Netherlands and back again, so Waste Management is working to become the local contractor for EMOSS in New Zealand.

Waste Management could potentially take on contracts from other companies to convert vehicles to be electric.

The rubbish trucks were the ideal electric vehicles, Nickels said.

Drivers found them more comfortable and enjoyable to pilot, they were lot quieter for communities, and the time spent idling and polluting was quashed.

The truck was not the first electric vehicle for the company, which has nearly 30 smaller vehicles already fully electric.

Waste Management was more than a logistics company, Nickels said. It was a waste and environmental company, with sustainability at its core.

"With a large fleet of trucks and cars on the road we believe we can help safeguard our environment for future generations through the adoption of electric vehicle technology," he said.

"I am delighted we're bringing this strategy to life by rolling out electric trucks across New Zealand."