The City of Los Angeles Sanitation (LASAN) has completed its battery-electric refuse truck demonstration project with BYD and Wayne Engineering. This demo vehicle logged more than 5,200 miles and drove up to 108 miles per day, with an average range of 99 miles, proving that zero-emission refuse vehicles are a viable technology for municipal waste haulers, according to a BYD release.

LASAN ran a four-month pilot project with a Class 6 battery-electric refuse truck developed by BYD and Wayne Engineering. The demonstration began in January 2017, with the truck operating on the same real-world routes and variable terrain as LASAN’s regular trucks. The vehicle delivered up to four tons per day to the landfill, all on a single charge, with no major mechanical or performance issues.

Urban refuse trucks are a challenging sector for electrification, as most modern battery technologies have not been able to meet the heavy-duty service requirements for waste hauling operations. The pilot demonstrated that zero-emission technology can meet the range and performance needs of the refuse industry.

“LASAN worked closely with BYD during the testing to ensure the electric vehicle met our operational requirements and the outcomes of the testing are satisfactory. This will pave the path for LASAN to move to zero emission collection fleet as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's Sustainability pLAn,” said Ron Cole, fleet manager for LA Sanitation.