British Town Demonstrates World's First Garbage Truck Powered by Garbage

February 2, 2009 by Lisa Zyga Garbage truck

The electric garbage truck and charging post. The vehicle runs on electricity produced from the garbage it collects, after being recycled at the nearby Energy from Waste power station. Image: Register Hardware.

(PhysOrg.com) -- A town in Britain has recently demonstrated its new "'leccy vehicle" - an electric garbage truck that is fueled by the garbage it collects. The Kirklees Council presented the waste-powered Ford Transit garbage truck at Huddersfield town center last week.

The vehicle will collect garbage from 25 newly installed split bins and take it to the Energy from Waste power station and recycling center nearby. The power station burns the garbage to generate electricity, and the truck recharges at a charging post to be ready for the next day's route.

The garbage truck is a modified Smith Edison 3.5-ton Ford Transit with a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The vehicle has a top speed of 50 mph, a 100-mile range, and takes about six to eight hours to charge. The only reported downside is that the quiet electric truck may present safety issues for unsuspecting pedestrians.

Besides powering the garbage truck, the Energy from Waste station also pumps about 10 megawatts of electricity into the grid per day. All the power is generated from burning local garbage.
___________

via: Register Hardware

Rate this story - 3.5 /5 (6 votes)

rank
1
2
3
4
5

view popular

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.

Display comments: newest first

anonperson - Feb 02, 2009
- Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
What of the ash and gas that is generated in this incinerator?
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
Szkeptik - Feb 02, 2009
- Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
Yeah, although the electric truck sounds nice I'm quite sure that burning the garbage releases more pollutants than a simple truck would.
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
jbeekman - Feb 02, 2009
- Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
I agree with the above comments. It sounds great if you say it fast, but overall, it may not be real environmentally friendly.

Were the vehicle designed to run off of methane from the garbage, it might be news.
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
ryuuguu - Feb 03, 2009
- Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
Would have they incinerated the garbage anyway? Many places do just burn the garbage.
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
JCincy - Feb 03, 2009
- Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
Why not construct a garbage cart to be pulled by hogs and goats. They could eat the garbage they collect.
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
Gelvan_Tullibole_3rd - Feb 15, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
From the look of the truck and its wire mesh sides I think it collects what we here in the old world refer to as garden waste. Do you "guys" have other words than "Garbage"?
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5
Gelvan_Tullibole_3rd - Feb 15, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
If you are really interested try this link :-
http://www.youtub...SZyPpm-I&feature=related
You might have to copy and paste
- report abuse
- - Current rank
  - 1
  - 2
  - 3
  - 4
  - 5

Other News

The power of 'random': 'Seemingly loopy' technique could dramatically improve communications networks

Technology / Computer Sciences

16 hours ago | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 5 |

A radical new approach to the design of communications networks, called "network coding," promises to make Internet file sharing faster, streaming video more reliable, and cell-phone reception better -- among ...

'Revolutionary' water treatment units on their way to Afghanistan

Technology / Engineering

11 hours ago | 4.2 / 5 (5) | 4 |

The United States Army has taken delivery of the first two units of a "revolutionary" waste-water treatment system that will clean putrid water within 24 hours and leave no toxic by-products, according to scientists at Sam ...

Imec and Holst Centre achieve breakthrough in battery-less radios

Imec achieves breakthrough in battery-less radios

Technology / Semiconductors

12 hours ago | 4.9 / 5 (10) | 0 |

At today's International Solid State Circuit Conference, Imec and Holst Centre report a 2.4GHz/915MHz wake-up receiver which consumes only 51µW power. This record low power achievement opens the door to battery-less ...

Google developing a translator for smartphones

Technology / Software

18 hours ago | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 3 |

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google is developing a translator for its Android smartphones that aims to almost instantly translate from one spoken language to another during phone calls.

Google gives Gmail social-networking 'Buzz' (Update)

Technology / Internet

13 hours ago | 5 / 5 (1) | 1

Google is giving its free email service a "Buzz" by adding social-networking features which could challenge the supremacy of platforms like Facebook and Twitter.