City to apply for state grant to purchase five electric refuse trucks

Trash pickup in Erie might be going electric.

Public Works officials with the City of Erie plan to apply for an EV Zero Emissions Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection which would add electric refuse trucks to the City’s fleet.

“We’re really excited,” said A.J. Antolik, Assistant Director of Public Works for the City of Erie. “We think it’s a great opportunity for our community and our environment.”

Pending the grant approval, The City of Erie will replace five diesel trucks with five EV trucks. The grant will also pay for the charging infrastructure and battery monitoring technology.

This week, a zero-emissions electric refuse truck was on loan from M&K Truck Center in Harborcreek Township. Public Works crews were able to test the truck. Based on EV technology and the data collected from current diesel trucks, Antolik said that the new trucks will be able to complete current trash routes of 100 miles or 1,000 stops on one single, four-hour charge.

The lasting impact of this project will be zero-emissions vehicles in the City’s fleet.

The Mayor and his team had a chance to view the electronic refuse truck that was on loan to the City to test-drive for a few days.

“This is a very exciting opportunity that I hope the City can implement very soon,” Mayor Schember said on Friday. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction toward improving our air quality and reducing noise pollution to improve our residents’ quality of life.”

See video of the EV refuse truck at: https://youtu.be/kWujLc8FoEY