Renewable Gossip

By Larry E. Hall

Hydraulic Hybrid Developed By EPA Increases Garbage Truck Fuel Economy Up To 30 Percent

In the early morning hours across America, five days a week, an army of big-dog garbage trucks sets out to pick up our trash. They pull up, stop, idle, load and take off for the next stop, often only 100 feet or less away. This happens 300 to 1,200 times per day, per vehicle.

The city of Ann Arbor, Mich. is purchasing four Peterbilt garbage trucks with Eaton’s Hydraulic Launch Assist hydraulic hybrid system. The city expects a 30% increase in fuel economy as well as savings from fewer brake replacement jobs.

On a good day, a diesel garbage hauler will eke out 4 to 5 mpg. Then there are all those icky, nasty pollutants pouring out of the exhaust pipe.

But thanks to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), yes, those government folks who monitor environmental laws and fuel mileage testing, a system called “hydraulic hybrid” increases fuel economy up to 30 percent and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent or more in heavy-duty truck applications.

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