Fairfax County, Va. –– Virginia’s first hydraulic hybrid trash truck is rolling in Fairfax County.
The $35,000 truck was purchased with federal grant money and is expected to save up to six percent in fuel and maintenance costs.
County officials say trash trucks on average stop and start 800 times per day during their collection runs. This truck uses a hydraulic pump that was installed along the truck’s drive shaft that helps with its acceleration, will help reduce its fuel consumption, reduce emissions and heat generated when the brakes are applied.
“It has long been our priority to promote environmental stewardship throughout Fairfax County, not just ‘make the trash go away,'” said Fairfax Division of Solid Waste Collection Director Jeff Smithberger. “Part of our strategic process incorporates looking at the feasibility of new technologies and innovations that can help us perform our work at a high level and in a cost-efficient manner while minimizing the impact on our local environment.”
Additionally, for the past two years, other trash trucks in Fairfax have been equipped with a regeneration system that captures carbon and soot particles, which allows the truck to operate cleaner and more efficiently.
Fairfax County’s waste removal division is charged with collecting waste from 45,000 residents, and remove debris in times of emergency.
