Dubai Municipality Tests Its First Fully Electric Waste Collection Truck

The vehicle runs on three lithium-ion batteries with a combined weight of about 2.2 tonnes. It has a range of 100 to 150 kilometres on a charge, which the municipality says covers a normal day of collection rounds. A 160kW fast charger takes the batteries from 20% to 80% in one hour and 45 minutes. The truck holds 19 cubic metres of waste, can carry up to 11 tonnes once compressed and handles bins from 120 litres to 1.1 cubic metres.

The truck has an electric compactor that can empty communal bins and collect from individual homes. Built-in scales weigh waste as each container is emptied, giving the municipality data on how much it collects. Cameras monitor the vehicle's surroundings and each stage of collection to improve the driver's view and reduce risks to workers and other road users.

Saeed Safar, director of the municipality's Waste Operations Department, said the truck is meant to test how heavy electric vehicles actually perform in local conditions. The results will give the municipality a basis for deciding whether to use more of them across its operations, he said. "The introduction of electric vehicles into waste collection and transport operations represents a practical step towards adopting clean and innovative technologies in daily operations," Safar said.

The municipality has trained a dedicated team, including a smart vehicle technician and cleaning engineers, to run and maintain the vehicle. The truck will work two shifts totalling 16 hours a day, which will test both battery range and charging time.

The project falls under the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy 2041. The strategy aims to cut waste generation by 18% and divert all waste from landfill by 2041. The municipality did not say who made the vehicle, what it cost or how long the trial will run before it decides whether to electrify more of its collection fleet.