It’s some while since we looked at the satellite unit/‘mother ship’ principal of waste collection in Waste Management World. But since our article – describing how this essentially southern European method of working could be utilized more widely in waste collection and recycling – was published in our 2006 Transport Special, several things have happened.
First, the original principle still makes sense: a small ‘satellite’ vehicle picks up wheeled bins from the narrow streets and alleyways in the old quarter of a city centre, then, when fully laden, meets up with a larger three or four axle refuse collection vehicle in a suburban car park, where the load is transferred into the bigger machine.
 Iride has produced a high capacity 44-tonne gross weight articulated semi-trailer RCV for ‘mother ship’ operations working in conjunction with satellite units |
The advantages of this method of working can be considerable. Firstly, damage caused by traditional, large three-axle 26-tonne gross weight RCVs working in narrow streets is much reduced. Secondly, although the figures might vary in different global markets, a satellite unit, mounted on a 7.5-tonne gross weight truck chassis is going to cost around 50% less to buy than a ‘compact’ compaction-type RCV.
But at the same time, it is likely to have a legal payload of more than double – and in some cases up to three times – that of the compaction-type alternative on the same type of chassis. ‘More’ for ‘less’ isn’t something that happens often in life, so on that basis alone, it’s worth further investigation!
Satellite units have an equal capability when it comes to container and wheeled bin lifting. But with a reduced reliance on the hydraulics that are needed to continuously pack the load from the hopper into the body (as is the case with compaction types), it could be argued that they can help reduce the levels of noise and disturbance to residents.
This in turn could allow collections earlier in the mornings without causing complaints – an important issue as shift working outside normal working hours is likely to become more common in waste collection.
There is another environmental element, too. Being based almost entirely on lighter-weight truck chassis, there are various options available for either fully automatic or ‘clutchless’ gearshift systems and hybrid/dual-fuel chassis specification options, while for hilly districts – or where snow and ice are a problem in winter – four-wheel drive options. All these things tend to be far easier to specify on a chassis in the 3.5 to 10-tonne weight classes than on chassis of 19 tonnes gross weight or more.
More congestion equals higher costs
But there’s one element of the story that has changed in the past few years – the busy, prosperous parts of our world have continued to get more and more congested with traffic. The mix of high taxes and traffic congestion is increasingly unpleasant for ordinary people, but for the politicians, it’s something of a tax bonus – making them perhaps less keen to solve the problems.
 Bringing the two vehicles together, perfectly ‘square-on’, is aided by a combination of CCTV cameras and/or reversing sensors mounted in the cab of the satellite unit |
Why is this? The answer is, vehicles stuck in traffic jams continue to burn highly taxed fuel while going nowhere – which gives politicians the excuse to introduce ‘congestion charge’ tolls which help bring in more tax revenue! This makes it more expensive to run big trucks in general so it impacts on waste collection vehicles. And while, on paper, big trucks are more efficient than small ones, in practice, bigger trucks pay a disproportionately higher amount of tax – and need bigger gaps in traffic.
While distribution trucks bringing food, consumer goods and new materials into urban areas can overcome congestion by delivering at night, few residents would be happy with night-time waste and recycled materials collections, due to the noise and disruption this would cause. This means one of the most important trucks caught up in rush hour traffic is increasingly the urban refuse collection vehicle.
Attracting rental interest
So the question is: might it be possible to cut out the delays by utilizing a larger ‘mother ship’ RCV with a number of smaller satellite units in congested urban areas? Certainly, Iride directors Franco Arduino and his brother Antonio think so. Their company already has a good track record of meeting the needs of customers from within Italy over a 25-year period, but more recently, the decision was taken to increase the rate of production – and the scope of the model range – to meet the demands of customers outside Italy.
 Perfect! This close-up reveals how neatly the two units can be ‘docked’. Bin lifters on both units are specified so as not to restrict the unloading process |
Iride products have, in fact, already been sold into other Mediterranean markets such as Spain, Portugal, the south of France and North Africa, but late in 2007, Iride announced it would market its products for the first time in the UK as part of a long-term plan to expand into the major northern European markets and Scandinavia. In less than six months, EcoFar UK (the newly-formed UK importer), has sold a number of satellite units into both waste collection and recycled materials applications, with considerable interest coming from the vehicle rental sector.
Why might this be? One of the key advantages of the satellite unit format – aside from it’s low price and high payload – is that this type of vehicle is entirely leachate leak-proof. It can therefore collect all types of waste material without leaving unpleasant stains or residue on the highway. And while such units soon become fully laden – when loaded with packaging materials for example – there are operators who have found them ideal for recycled materials collections, or implementing dedicated food waste collections. Iride has recognized this fact and introduced a split hopper design on its Eco Sat and Eco Side Twin ranges. These allow for the collection of two waste streams on one vehicle.
But even more innovative options have recently been designed. The elements of both ranges – rear-end loading and side loading – can be combined onto a longer wheelbase 7.5 to 13-tonne gross weight chassis to give a three-compartment unit. This would feature twin rear-loading compartments and a third side-loading compartment, thus enabling three different waste streams to be collected – all by hydraulic bin lifter. And the significance of this is the price.
Such a unit would be less than half the cost of a typical full-sized recycling unit, if not a third. Can three smaller vehicles work more efficiently than one large one? Not in every case, no – as three drivers need to be employed instead of one – but when actual loading times are measured against the time stuck in traffic jams, smaller units might win the overall ‘carbon footprint’ reduction race by achieving higher utilization as a result of greater flexibility.
Mounting a challenge
Of course any new idea will have its detractors, and in the case of satellite units, it might come as no surprise to learn that the manufacturers of larger compaction-type RCVs are unlikely to be happy to see their traditional markets invaded by more compact satellite units. Although some manufacturers of larger compaction types also market satellite units of their own design – or already have marketing agreements with others – Iride is out to challenge the established market leaders by introducing a complementary range of compaction-type units as well.
All satellite units tend to feature a simple hydraulic packer plate, which clears the rear of the hopper and provides some measure of load security when laden, but the Iride product range also includes the Eco-Compact design. This features a clever cam-action compaction plate providing a higher degree of compaction and ‘sweep’. From this design, it was a logical step to a full-on compaction-type refuse collection vehicle and although Iride holds the regional distributorship of the Mazzochia range of compaction RCVs in part of Italy, Iride will launch a brand new model of its own design next month, following the enlargement of its product design office.
Known as Project Diechi (Project Ten) within the works, this is a combined body/hopper compaction machine (making it leachate leak-proof) using a two-stage rear-mounted packer plate to clear the loading hopper area. The unit has been designed to take a combined domestic/trade waste low-level bin lifter of Iride design and construction, but the unit can also be loaded manually if required by lowering the spill-tray.
When full, the load is discharged by ejector plate – just like a conventional compaction-type RCV. But because there is no ‘split’ between body and hopper, Project Ten is designed so the ejector plate forces the load out through the loading hopper. To do this, the ejector plate has a drop-down ‘flipper’ section to sweep the hopper as it passes. Project Ten will be available initially in a 10 m3 body size, suitable for chassis in the 12 to 15-tonne gross weight class. Based on early trials with the prototype – which were being undertaken when Waste Management World visited the Iride plant – a payload of 3–4 tonnes should be possible. The newly announced model name for this product will be EcoTen.
A bigger mother?
So when does an RCV cease to become a satellite unit? And does it follow that all compact designs can be used in conjunction with a larger mother ship vehicle? Vehicle size is an issue, but this is primarily in respect of how much load the mother ship RCV’s hopper can ‘digest’ in one go. At present, a rough guide would suggest that any satellite unit with a capacity up to around 5 m3 of household waste and up to 7 m3 of less-dense recycled materials shouldn’t present a problem. But no, not all compact units are suitable as ‘satellites’.
The key factor is not only to match the load discharge rate to the compaction rate of the mother ship – to achieve the transfer process, the satellite unit needs a high-tip capability. Getting the geometry right is not as simple as it looks – especially as the bin lifter must fold under the tipping body without fouling either vehicle. Iride – and most other manufacturers – now provide a CCTV camera system to ensure accurate ‘docking’. But now Iride looks set to go even further and offer its own ideas in mother ship design as well, giving this innovative manufacturer the opportunity to market a complete waste collection system for the first time.
Although articulated trucks are widely used in waste transfer and bulk materials haulage, the use of articulated refuse collection vehicles is far less common. The idea is not new however – major cities such as London had articulated RCVs to negotiate narrow streets back in the 1930s, while Hong Kong utilized compaction-type articulated trailers in the 1980s. Compaction trailers were left at apartment blocks until full, with the tractor unit bringing in an empty trailer and carting the full unit away. But could articulation help boost the utilization issues we were looking at earlier?
Designers at Iride suggest some fresh thinking is long overdue and having recently completed some large 44-tonne gross weight articulated RCVs for a North African customer, have started evaluating the concept of an articulated mother ship unit working in conjunction with several satellite units on a linear collection route. This method could have added benefits in the collection of recycled materials as the greater capacity of an articulated trailer (over a typical rigid truck-based mother ship) could enable it to work an entire shift without having to unload.
Equally, such a unit could be ideal for trade or market waste in that it could load builders’ skips up to 5 m3 capacity with ease – yet be just as manoeuvrable as a three or four axle rigid machine in traffic. The articulated mother ship trailer – branded EcoMaxi by Iride – also enables a standard, higher-geared tractor unit to be used when transferring laden trailers, with the option that more specialized tractors with automatic transmission and perhaps a low-entry crew cab might be used on the collection operations in urban areas.
Whether this idea takes off, or not, one thing is for sure – with its satellite vehicle range, Iride is already aiming high!
