J&M Sanitation, a waste and recycling collection company serving Kuna, Idaho, has deployed two all-electric Class 8 refuse trucks. J&M boasts that it’s the first company in the state to operate electric refuse trucks.

The BYD 8R heavy-duty trucks feature a proprietary electric propulsion system designed by BYD specifically for refuse collection. Each truck sports 295 kWh of battery capacity, enough to support a full day’s operations. BYD also built the cabs and chassis. Amrep, a refuse truck body manufacturer that’s part of the Wastequip family of brands, built the trucks’ 31-yard automated side-loader bodies.

The trucks feature an all-Hardox 450 body shell with a 175,000-psi-rated hopper and body. BYD says this delivers four times the strength of ordinary mild steel grades, while the truck weighs 20% less than a traditional refuse truck.

A daily run for one of J&M Sanitation’s trucks involves 1,065 lifts of the arm and approximately 18 tons of refuse collected. Each of the new electric trucks can complete its daily route with 18% state of charge to spare, and J&M plans to extend that by opportunity charging during routine downtime.

“As the waste management industry seeks to provide zero-emission trucks for the communities they serve, J&M Sanitation is demonstrating with BYD that battery-electric trucks are ready to fully support their operations,” said Aaron Gillmore, BYD’s VP of Truck Business. “Our trucks are hard at work every day, proving that electric is the new standard.”

“As a small, family-owned company, we were able to make the change from diesel to the electric waste removal vehicles long before legislation mandated the change,” said J&M CEO Tim Gordon. “I want to encourage legislators from across the country and government officials from the energy department to consider legislation that encourages other waste removal companies to make this change sooner. If a small company like ours can make the change, larger companies can too.”

Source: J&M Sanitation