The Lismore City Council has announced eight new Volvo garbage collection trucks due to join its fleet from September this year at a cost of $5 million.
A media release last week described the new trucks as ‘state-of-the-art side-loader trucks’.
The council said the new fleet was fully funded through a NSW Government grant.
Volvo Group Australia won the contract for the council’s new waste collection fleet in a confidential council vote at its ordinary meeting in June, with Lismore’s Southside Agencies to distribute the new trucks in a staged supply every ‘two to three months’, the release read.
Cameras, fire safety and ‘work zone monitoring’
The council said the new trucks would feature improved safety measures, including built-in cameras, fire suppression systems and work zone monitoring.
‘Faster bin lifts, improved hydraulics and modern Euro VI engines capable of running on biodiesel to reduce emissions,’ were also promised, although the council stopped short of saying whether the trucks would use the biodiesel capability.
Biodiesel was defined by the NSW Department of Primary Industries as produced from vegetable oils and waste fats.
‘Any diesel engine can potentially run on a conventional biofuel blend,’ online DPI information said.
‘The Australian diesel fuel standard allows up to 5% biodiesel in pump fuel,’ the online information read.
‘Higher concentrations of conventional biodiesel can cause issues with current infrastructure and engines.’
Returning to the Lismore City Council’s new fleet, the Volvo trucks are to feature standardised components and modern technology that the council says will cut maintenance costs and improve long-term reliability.
Mayor Steve Krieg said Volvo’s proposal was selected for ‘offering the best value based on cost, technical compliance, local support and performance’.
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