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Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer
On Tuesday (April 24), CleanScapes, the City of Des Moines and the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce cut a ribbon to celebrate the arrival of a new environmentally-friendly, hybrid garbage truck that will soon be roaming local streets.
Officially called a ‘Hydraulic Launch Assist’ (HLA) truck, it is the first hybrid garbage truck in the entire Northwest.
HLA vehicles store energy captured when braking and use it for future acceleration. This technology translates to up to 30% fuel savings and cleaner air.
“The City of Des Moines, located on the Puget Sound, is excited to see the HLA trucks in our neighborhoods, causing less wear and tear on our streets while also helping keep our air clean,” said Des Moines Mayor Dave Kaplan.
CleanScapes received a grant for the HLA truck from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Clean Cities Program.
“CleanScapes is proud to bring the latest in innovation and technology to the City of Des Moines,” said Dan Bridges, CleanScapes Manager of Operations.
CleanScapes was founded in Seattle in 1997, and provides sustainable solid waste and recycling collection service to residents and businesses in Des Moines, Shoreline, and Seattle.
For more information, visit www.cleanscapes.com.
Here are more photos from the event (click images to see larger versions):
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Rodney Watkins, Lead Driver for CleanScapes, explains how the cool-looking hybrid garbage truck works."]
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