PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Almost a year after Oregon announced its commitment to zero-emission vehicles, the state’s first all-electric garbage truck has hit the streets of Downtown Portland.
On Thursday morning, the Peterbilt Model 520EV was deployed for the first time in the North Park Blocks. Going forward, the garbage truck will serve East Portland — a community that Portland General Electric says is “disproportionately affected by climate change and air quality concerns.”
According to the manufacturing company, the zero-emissions truck takes three hours to charge and can hold up to 1,100 trash bins.
The vehicle is owned and operated by City of Roses Disposal and Recycling. The company covered costs with help from the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, funded by PGE’s Drive Change Fund.
“We’re proud to work together with customers and community members to demonstrate what’s possible in diverse industries in building an economy increasingly powered by electricity from renewable resources,” the gas company’s Vice President of Public Affairs Nik Blosser said.
According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Equality, about 35% of the state’s emissions stem from the transportation sector. The state’s electric garbage truck, as well as the ODEQ-approved rule that will prohibit the sale of new gas-powered passenger vehicles in 2035, aims to offset that.
PGE says the new truck will decrease emissions and noise for East Portlanders, as well as create training opportunities for workers in waste management.
“This milestone for COR will create green jobs for our community, while linking together social, economic, and environmental justice in ways our economy has never witnessed,” Alando Simpson, CEO of COR Disposal and Recycling, added in a statement.
The new garbage truck will join the other emissions-free vehicles seen on the streets of Portland.
TriMet added more battery-powered buses to its fleet this year. Portland Public Schools also debuted its first electric school buses in the spring.
