City of Santa Cruz introducing six new hybrid vehicles for trash pickup

Six new hybrid vehicles have been added to the refuse and recycling fleet in Santa Cruz.

The side loaders move between residential stops using only stored up hydraulic energy for power which reduces noise. They remain in a low idle without the need to use the accelerator until driving a long distance, and their diesel engines use about 20 percent less fuel than conventional diesel trucks.

The new vehicles have split-bodies which are used for collecting refuse on one side and green waste on the other side during the first trip of each route. After unloading at the Resource Recovery Facility, they revisit the same houses, this time collecting recyclables. They are currently rotating through each of the city’s eight residential routes weekday mornings.

The manufacturer estimates that each vehicle can save 48 tons of carbon emissions annually compared to traditional collection trucks.