Waste Management’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Innovation Hub has recently completed our first local and 100% electric truck conversion!
Our electric box body truck yesterday commenced operating out of our Technical Services branch in East Tamaki, Auckland, collecting medical waste from Middlemore and Greenlane Hospitals.
The truck has had the engine, gearbox, fuel system, exhaust system (and many other sub-components) removed and replaced with a fully electric drive train. It now has a theoretical range of approximately 200km between charges.
The body and tail lift unit were refurbished and remounted from an older medical waste truck, not only giving new life to an existing asset, but resulting in substantial cost savings.
The electric box body also features an innovative, company first, 360° camera system that gives the driver a “bird’s eye view” of the truck. This camera system allows the driver to easily manoeuvre the truck in difficult spots at low speeds. For safety, security and insurance purposes, video feeds are also taken from separate driver and cargo facing cameras.
An adaptive reverse alarm is also featured on this truck, which raises- and lowers the volume in accordance with ambient noise levels. This ensures that the truck is ultra-quiet when servicing medical institutions, yet still noticeable by pedestrians and workers around the truck.