NRG Fleet Services and its hire division Riverside Truck Rental (RTR) have supplied Wiltshire-based waste disposal, plant hire and civil engineering company MJ Church with the first Electra fully-electric refuse collection truck in the South West. The RCV will save six tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere each year, according to calculations from manufacturer Electra Commercial Vehicles.
RTR has provided the truck on an inclusive contract hire agreement supported by a full service and maintenance package.
The new noiseless zero-emission RCV will go into operation as a trade and retail collection vehicle in Bristol and Bath in April 2021. Both cities have implemented clean air zones, which have come into force in March 2021. The vehicle will serve a wide range of commercial and retail premises and essential services, including hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, schools, and retirement homes.
Benefits of contract hire
Part of this has been the decision to acquire the eRCV on a contract hire arrangement. This choice will significantly reduce downtime because of the vital service and maintenance arrangement by which this vehicle is supported. RTR’s nationwide service network recently added a new location in Calne, in Wiltshire, from where RTR’s highly trained maintenance staff will service and maintain this truck.
Leigh Goodland, Sales and Marketing Director for Riverside Truck Rental, explained: ‘Having enjoyed a longstanding relationship with MJ Church, I am delighted to be supplying the company’s first heavy EV. We have worked closely with the team to ensure the spec has been optimised to perform on their trade collection rounds. We will support the vehicle from our nearby high-tech Calne workshop and our mobile service engineers.’
MJ Church Director Tom Church said: ‘When you embark on a major investment on a disruptive technology like this there are a few things that you need to have at the outset. The most important of these is trust. Trust not just in the company that you are doing business with, but also in the fundamental suitability of the product.
‘We have been working with RTR for a number of years now, not just on hiring equipment but also on service and maintenance. We understand each other and have absolute trust in them as a business. They always deliver what they promise to, they are utterly dependable and they have a very similar corporate ethos when it comes to investing in future technology to guarantee a commercial advantage.
‘We also have absolute trust in the quality of the Electra product. We’ve worked closely with them in product development and they have delivered every step of the way, showing absolute commitment to meeting what is a very demanding specification.’
Electra – truck configuration
Based in Blackburn, Lancashire, Electra Commercial Vehicles worked closely with Chippenham-based MJ Church to create this particular RCV. MJ Church specified a whole-day operating shift range and an electrically-powered hydraulic lifter, packer and compactor, which can lift large commercial bins, empty them into the hopper, compact the refuse and then subsequently, eject it.
‘We are delighted to be launching this revolutionary vehicle. It will make a significant contribution to cleaner air while guaranteeing an excellent level of service at lower costs for businesses in Ultra Low Emission Zones as they get rolled out across the region,’ commented Tom Church, Director of MJ Church.
‘Emissions levels in urban centres are a severe issue – it goes way beyond business. Nothing is more important than peoples’ health. We have been watching this issue develop over the last few years, and as awareness has increased, so has the pressure for meaningful change. It has been apparent to us for some time that establishing low emissions zones in cities is simply the right thing to do and has therefore become inevitable.
‘We took the view that it would not only be irresponsible of us to continue to add to the problem by ignoring it. It would also be a failure as a business not to be able to lead the way in investing in the technology that solves the problem and enables our customers to have their waste collected with a minimum of disruption and without incurring the financial penalties associated with low emissions zones,’ Tom said.
Operator wellbeing
Leigh Goodland added that the truck’s zero noise aspect is highly beneficial for staff wellbeing and service delivery. ‘The fact that that the eHGV produces zero noise will have a big impact on the services MJ Church can offer its customers. We know through the experience of using Electra RCVs during trials BIFFA in Manchester that driver wellbeing significantly improves because the vehicle is silent and has no steering wheel vibration. Headaches and fatigue are considerably reduced. We have also had reports that people’s sleep improves. The vehicle safer as it is a direct drive; therefore, gearbox take up and turbo lag are a thing of the past, particularly when pulling away at junctions or roundabouts.’
Maximum sustainability
The operator can Electra it in the most demanding clean air zones without compromising on diesel technology. Electra created Lithium battery packs explicitly for the most demanding loads endured in commercial vehicle delivery cycles. The battery packs are housed in specially designed fuel tanks, located on the chassis rails’ side, where the diesel tanks would be conventionally fitted. Electra has set up the infrastructure for the batteries to be repurposed at the end of their life for at least another ten years in household, school and industrial applications.
Safety and compliance
The new Electra truck is based on a Mercedes-Benz Econic glider chassis platform, which features a low-entry cab with optimal visibility. Not only does this reduce the injury rate for staff, but it also dramatically improves fleet and road safety in general.
The eRCV has been equipped with a 23m3 Dennis Eagle hydraulic Olympus body with a Terberg Matec Beta 2 trade lift. The Electra RCV has been equipped to ensure compliance with all the latest safety camera and safety technology.
Successful trials
MJ Church has also designed a fully wrapped high-impact livery which demonstrates the eHGVs sustainable credentials. The company is confident about the truck’s performance on all levels because MJ Church has closely monitored its performance with BIFFA in Manchester. Manchester City Council has just received the first set of 27 of these RCVs to be operated by Biffa on its municipal collection contract after a successful two-year trial.
Future – now
As a company, MJ Church is planning considerable investments in reducing its carbon footprint and emissions while promoting sustainability.
So far, the company has carried out hydrogenated vehicle oil (HVO) fuel trials. Now, MJ Church is also looking to move into acquiring electric skip loaders. Simultaneously, Tom Church and his team are working with Riverside Truck Rental and Electra to design another electric refuse collection vehicle in the second half of 2021 as part of the plan to become fully carbon neutral.
MJ Church aims to become fully electric in both urban and rural areas over the next period.
Riverside Truck Rental’s Leigh Goodland concluded: ‘I look forward to working very closely with Tom Church and Mark Taylor in the coming months and years while helping MJ Church drive its sustainability targets forwards.’
