Volvo's electric garbage truck promises to dramatically reduce noise pollution
Garbage trucks may soon be much quieter.
Volvo introduced a new electric garbage truck design this week called the Volvo FE Electric. The truck is built to optimize efficiency and quietly hauling away trash.
The lithium-ion powered truck has a 125-mile range and is envisioned as the perfect trash compacting truck with no emissions. It's specifically built for a quieter ride with fewer vibrations for garbage workers riding along -- and for residents who can typically hear large garbage trucks rattling through the neighborhood.
The Volvo FE Electric will be available in Europe in 2019 starting in Hamburg, Germany. The new garbage truck follows Volvo's unveiling of the FL Electric last month. The FL Electric, similarly, is an all-electric truck with a longer 185-mile range and an electric motor with 185 kilowatts of max power.
The new FE dual-electric motor model can handle heavier lifting and hold up to 60,000 pounds -- perfect for garbage pick-up needs.
Hamburg waste management officials said its 300 conventional trash vehicles release more than 66 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. The electric truck will relieve the city of extra pollution. Clean energy can power the rechargeable batteries.
The truck has a low-entry cab for easy on-and-off movements. And while the quiet ride is beneficial for the driver, it's also a boon for parents with sleeping babies and anyone with pets who are easily startled.
We never thought we'd say this, but we're actually really excited about this new, electric garbage truck.
Topics Electric Vehicles
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
