Purchasing a Solid Waste Collection Vehicle Quick tips for the planning process. Michelle Viney , Senior Community Facilitator, Communities Unlimited (CU)
M anaging the collection and transfer of rural solid waste requires a lot of equipment, such as collection vehicles, carts, compactors, and transfer vehicles. Particularly demanding rural solid waste collection routes cause continuous wear and tear on collection vehicle fleets. Strategic maintenance can extend the useful life of collection equipment, but eventually, every community faces the costly and complex process of replacing essential collection vehicles.
Collection Vehicle Specifications Solid waste collection vehicles have two major components: the chassis and the collection body. Both are specialized for the harsh environments where they operate. The chassis includes the vehicle frame, cab, drive train, and wheels. The collection body, either rear loader, side loader, or front-end loader, is mounted on the vehicle chassis and serves as the containment vessel for solid waste and recycling collection. Manufacturers usually offer chassis and collection bodies, but not always both. For this reason, solid waste collection vehicles are rarely purchased from stock inventory. One of the first decisions a community must make is whether it wants to fully automate or semi-automate collection and whether it prefers the front-, rear-, or side-loading vehicles. Some communities may collect more than one type of waste stream with the same collection vehicle—that is, the vehicle collects residential solid waste some days and residential recycling on others. Depending on which type of loader the vehicle is, there may
RCAP.ORG 7
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator