As an industry, we have come a long way from the days of horse drawn carts and the rag man. Over the past 25 years, the industry made a significant push from diesel to natural gas collection vehicles, resulting in cleaner emissions and better economics. Today, the promise of zero emission waste collection fleets appears to be within grasp.

As municipalities and private haulers across the U.S. are adopting or implementing climate action plans to reduce carbon emissions, there is considerable interest in electric or other zero emissions (ZEM) vehicles. Some of these entities are pilot testing electric waste collection trucks but none have fully implemented ZEM waste collection fleets.

The benefits to ZEM waste collection fleets are clear and include improved air quality in their local communities, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, quieter trucks, and potentially reduced operating costs.

However, some of the barriers to ZEM implementation include:

• Recent investments to CNG trucks, fueling and maintenance infrastructure
• The need and opportunity to utilize RNG from local sources such as landfill gas and/or organic waste anaerobic digestion facilities
• Capital and implementation costs
• Truck operating range, battery life, charging time, and temperature impacts
• Concerns with lithium mining and recycling infrastructure to support battery electric vehicles

This session will start with a presentation outlining the key issues associated with the drive to ZEM waste collection fleets, including the demonstrated emissions and air quality benefits, operational benefits and challenges, and current financial stimulus through national and state grant programs. A panel discussion will follow the presentation include truck manufacturers, government operators, and industry groups who are all involved in the adoption or pilot testing of ZEM waste collection fleets. The group will discuss the current status of pilot operations and their efforts to address barriers to ZEM implementation.