The City of Madison has introduced two new all-electric garbage trucks to its fleet — making it the first community in Wisconsin to deploy this technology.
The electric vehicles come as an additional step in furthering Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s Climate Forward agenda.
According to the City of Madison, the new trucks were manufactured by Mack Trucks, and sold to the city through a local dealer, Kriete Truck Center.
“Five years ago, Madison had no electric vehicles in its fleet,” Rhodes-Conway said in an event hosted by Kriete Truck Centers on Sept. 17. “Today, we have more than 100 full electric vehicles, 150 hybrids, and, thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, 62 new electric buses that will serve our bus rapid transit system.”
The electric garbage trucks are part of the city’s broader efforts to transition its entire fleet to more sustainable, renewable energy sources, according to Rhodes-Conway.
Climate change is one of the greatest threats of our time and the City of Madison is ready to do its part to fix it, according to the Climate Forward initiative.
The City of Madison’s Communications Manager Dylan Brogan said making the city’s fleet of garbage trucks zero-emission is a top priority.
“There are a lot of wins all over the place in terms of doing the work of making our municipal fleet one of the leading innovators in the country,” Brogan said.
While the technology for heavy-duty electric vehicles has only recently become viable, Brogan said the city is eager to put these new trucks to the test, especially in Madison’s cold winter weather.
Brogan said the operation of the vehicles in the winter months will be the proving ground for other Wisconsin communities to see the benefits.
In addition to the benefits of reduced emissions, Brogan said that the city stands to save more money by operating these trucks, citing lower maintenance expenses and eliminating the need for diesel fuel.
“Madison has long been an innovative community, and the Climate Forward Agenda really speaks to that,” Brogan said. “Doing everything within our power to make Madison more sustainable is not only good for the environment, but it’s also fiscally responsible in the long run.”
To further engage the community, Madison is holding a naming contest for the two new electric garbage trucks. Residents are invited to submit creative and humorous nicknames. The winning names will be selected through a ranked-choice voting process Oct. 1.
As Madison continues to lead the way in sustainable transportation, Brogan said he hopes Madison’s experience will inspire other communities across Wisconsin to follow suit.
“The message to other Wisconsin communities is that this is a good option. It’s worked out in Madison, and it’ll work out in your community too,” Brogan said.
