Even working on the basis that the Pollutec event is primarily aimed at the French market, it still represents one of the most significant waste and recycling events in Europe. But obviously the ambitions of the organizers and exhibitors are far wider than that. What makes a visit an important part of my calendar, is that, like the Ecomondo event in Italy, ‘innovation’ comes high up the list of priorities amongst the exhibitors. In other words, there is always likely to be something new to see.
 Renault had hybrid technology trucks as a centre piece to its Pollutec stand. Units from Volvo and Mercedes-Benz were also at the show |
So what is likely to be ‘new’ in our market in 2009? Although it’s always dangerous for a journalist to predict the future, it finally does now look like we’ll have the benefit of diesel electric ‘hybrid’ refuse collection vehicles soon – with both Volvo and Renault (these days, corporately linked of course) and Mercedes-Benz all showing what can now be considered working production-ready heavy truck chassis, up to 26 tonnes gross weight.
I’ve already been lucky enough to drive a Volvo pre-production prototype and hope to bring you a full report soon. The unit is on waste collection trials in Gothenburg, Sweden, operated by Renova. The unit also features Geesink Norba’s new ‘plug-in’ electro-hydraulic compaction and bin-lifter system – that even works when the truck’s power unit is not running. While the Norba system employs its own rechargeable battery pack, the hybrid chassis also features a battery pack to power the 120 kW electric hybrid drive motor, see www.geesinknorbagroup.com.
Confusing? Not really. When Volvo Truck and Bus starts production of hybrids in 2010, it’s likely that the chassis-mounted battery pack will have enough output to power body hydraulic demands. But even when two packs are employed, I’m told fuel savings of at least 30% are possible, while CO2 and noise levels are also substantially reduced, when compared to conventional trucks.
Crushing argument
Another major innovation might be far from new, but has so far failed to catch on in our industry. What is it? The answer is ‘waste reduction’.
Fitting a rotating crusher wheel to the boom of a 360, or employing a purpose-built/portable unit within a waste container transfer facility could provide even larger savings than those expected of Hybrid trucks. A starting figure is 40% or 50% on mixed ‘bring site’ waste – with 60% volume reduction possible on green waste material. Yet one of the few exhibitors to spot this potential – French manufacturer JSB Constructions – was unable to make a commercial success of selling its Packmat line of waste reduction systems.
Enter Canadian-based finance to save the day, and a closer working agreement with Canadian waste equipment manufacturer Labrie. As a result, the Packmat range has been improved, re-engineered, with Yanmar diesel options available alongside Deutz air/oil cooled units and … well, with fuel prices continuing to be an issue, plus the environmental CO2 reduction advantages in reducing the number of truck movements to carry the same tonnages of waste, 2009 could be the year when our industry wakes up to the advantages of container waste reduction, see www.packmat.fr.
Based on results already obtained in Germany, it is clear that in some types of operation, a single-manned side-loading RCV can speed up the collection of domestic wheeled bins. But while seen as a major innovation several years ago, the fact is, the majority of the world’s waste is still not picked up in this way. Part of the problem is aligning the joystick-controlled lifter with the position of the containers. But economy of operation also depends on matching payload capacity to the collection routes.
 Labrie Automizer’s new side-loading RCV |
Canadian manufacturer Labrie has addressed this second issue with its latest Automizer side-loader by offering a hooklift demount system – thus enabling laden body ‘pods’ to be swapped for fresh units rather than waste time travelling to distant transfer sites, see www.labriegroup.com.
Downsizing debate continues
And what about last year’s big trend? The ‘downsizing’ of waste and recyclable materials collection vehicles in order that they might be better suited to working in congested city streets? The French market is home to several domestic manufacturers of satellite collection units, such as PB Environmental, www.pbev.com. But this manufacturer’s key feature – the production of bodies in aluminium to save weight, and be thus better suited to collecting food waste – has now been taken up by Italian manufacturer Porcelli, www.officineporcelli.com.
 Porcelli now offers an aluminium satellite body to increase payload potential on 3.5–10.0 gross-weight truck chassis |
With dedicated food waste collections now very much seen as a new innovation (even though they are far from that), the combination of hygienic, lightweight bodywork and a compact hybrid diesel electric truck chassis (such as those already seen from Isuzu, Mitsubishi-Fuso and Hino) really does seem to offer a viable alternative to increasingly heavy and expensive, two or three compartment, compaction-type vehicles. Better still of course, having both types enables the smaller unit to discharge into the larger units, thus helping cut route mileage in many cases.
But we must not forget that a mess will still be made, and depot sites will still need innovative plant and machinery to function smoothly. With the collapse of the construction industry in many world markets, it’s no surprise to find that manufacturers, with their core business in that industry, are actively looking for sales within the waste and recycling sector.
 Manitou is looking to boost waste industry sales with its MLT845H hydrostatic telehandler |
Some, like Caterpillar and JCB, have enjoyed a healthy market share in both, but others such as Manitou are keen to catch up. The key to success is specific waste industry specifications – and that’s exactly what the latest Manitou MLT845H offers, see www.manitou.com.
But clever ideas don’t always have to be big or expensive, or from major corporations – and Pollutec often offers some surprises. On the face of it, La Clean Box fork-mounted sweeper collector attachment, from family-owned loader bucket and grab specialist Emily, is just one of many.
But what’s new is, in addition to its own anti-dust water jet-spray system, it has a suction fan turbine ecologically powered by a hydraulic pump using friction drive from the two main supporting wheels to aid the collection process. At present, only a 1.4 metre wide sweep model (suitable for forklift trucks) is available, but my guess is, a larger version with a 2–3 metre sweep width would enjoy wide success, as most ‘yard brushes’ do little more than stir up the dust. Based in Brittany, Emily also produces a range of aerator buckets for composting and plastic bag splitter shredding attachments for plastics recycling, www.emily.fr.
 The Norwegian Magnoclamp forklift |
Another forklift truck-mounted attachment of interest, is the Norwegian-designed Magnoclamp – designed to handle recyclable white goods without damage, see www.magnoclamp.eu.
Malcolm Bates is Transport Correspondent for Waste Management World e-mail: wmw@pennwell.com
