Madison Reporter

The City of Madison Streets Division will be the first community in Wisconsin with an all-electric trash collection truck. As part of Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway's Climate Forward Agenda, two of these new, heavy-duty EVs will soon hit the streets of Madison picking up trash and recycling.

“Five years ago, Madison had no electric vehicles in its fleet. Today, we have more than 100 fully electric vehicles, 150 hybrids, and, thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, 62 new electric buses that will serve our bus rapid transit system,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “Electrifying heavy-duty vehicles is on the forefront of zero emissions technology. Madison will help demonstrate the performance of these new electric garbage trucks in real-world conditions and help quantify the long-term savings associated with eliminating fossil fuel costs and reducing maintenance expenses.”

The new all-electric trash collection trucks, one a rear loader and the other an automated side loader, are LRe models manufactured by Mack Trucks and provided to the city by Kriete Truck Centers, a commercial truck and equipment dealer with 10 locations across Wisconsin. Both trucks will operate out of the east side Streets Division location.

A conventional trash collection truck typically uses 17 gallons of diesel fuel per day and produces both carbon and air pollution. Electric trash collection trucks, however, produce no tailpipe emissions, which is beneficial for the climate and community health. The addition of electric collection trucks to Madison’s municipal fleet is also helping move the industry away from its dependence on fossil fuels.