How to Electrify a Refuse Fleet | Flexible Power Systems

Refuse collection is a promising application for fleet electrification. Many vehicles follow established routes and return to the depot overnight, creating opportunities for depot charging. However, the detail matters: vehicle bodies and compaction equipment consume energy, payloads and collection volumes vary, depots have limited electrical capacity, and electric vehicles typically cost more to purchase than their diesel equivalents.

This guide applies our Plan, Pilot, Scale approach to refuse fleets, drawing on published evidence from Cenex and the Welsh Government's waste vehicle programme.

Why Refuse Fleets Suit Electrification

Waste and recycling vehicles can account for a disproportionate share of local authority fleet emissions. According to Cenex, they can contribute over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions while representing around a third of fleet vehicles. At Rushcliffe Borough Council, 32-tonne rigid trucks, including refuse collection vehicles, account for 30% of the fleet and 65% of its well-to-wheel emissions.

The Duty Cycle Can Work in Your Favour

Established routes: Many refuse fleets operate familiar rounds, making it possible to model energy requirements using route, vehicle and collection data. However, daily demand can vary with seasonal garden waste, holiday periods, collection schedules and the amount of waste collected
Overnight dwell: Vehicles that return to the depot overnight may have several hours available for charging before their next shift
Depot charging: Charging infrastructure can be installed and expanded as more vehicles become electric, subject to available electrical capacity and the site's layout
Opportunities for shared charging: Refuse vehicles are often away from the depot during collection hours. This can create opportunities to share charging infrastructure with other council fleets or private operators whose vehicles are parked at different times. The potential depends on vehicle schedules, access arrangements, charger compatibility and power availability

Plan Around the Changing Vehicle Market

The UK Government has stated its intention to phase out sales of new non-zero-emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) weighing up to and including 26 tonnes by 2035, and all new non-zero-emission HGVs by 2040. However, the detailed regulatory framework has been under consultation, so operators should check the latest policy position when making investment decisions.

These dates are relevant to many refuse fleets, but not every vehicle falls into the same category. Fleets may include light commercial vehicles, cage vans, 18-tonne and 26-tonne trucks, heavier vehicles and specialist equipment such as road sweepers. Vehicle weight, classification and the scope of the eventual regulations will determine which requirements apply.

The direction of travel makes early planning worthwhile. Operators can assess suitable rounds, trial vehicles and prepare depots before replacement decisions become urgent.

Understand Your Fleet's Requirements

Not every vehicle in a refuse fleet performs the same job. Collection method, body configuration, payload, equipment use and operating schedule can all affect whether an electric replacement is suitable.

Rather than starting with a list of vehicle types, start by understanding the work each vehicle needs to do. Identify the rounds and operational requirements that a replacement must accommodate, including:

The type and volume of waste collected
Body configuration, including split bodies and separate compartments
Compaction, lifting and other equipment powered by the vehicle
Payload requirements and the effect of battery weight on usable payload
Shift patterns, return times and any need for vehicles to operate twice in one day
Access restrictions, road widths and other constraints on the routes

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Battery Electric Is the Leading Option for Many Fleets

Battery electric refuse vehicles are available from major truck manufacturers, increasingly with the power take-off (PTO) options needed to operate collection bodies and equipment.

Specifications vary by manufacturer and configuration. For example, the Dennis Eagle eCollect 6x2, a 26-tonne electric refuse collection vehicle, has a 300 kWh battery, of which 270 kWh is usable. Published Welsh Government programme data reports a typical observed range of approximately 40–80 miles, depending on the duty cycle, and charging capability using a 50 kW three-phase charger.

This is a useful illustration of why battery capacity alone is not enough to determine suitability: the same vehicle can achieve different ranges on different rounds. Charging power, charging time and usable energy should be checked against the exact vehicle specification and the operator's working schedule.

Battery electric refuse vehicles have been deployed by several UK councils and waste operators since 2021, including Cardiff, Manchester, Newport, Nottingham and Westminster.

Potential benefits include:

Lower operational emissions: Battery electric vehicles have no exhaust emissions during use. Their well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions depend on the electricity used to charge them, the vehicle's efficiency and the comparison vehicle. Use a consistent emissions methodology and current electricity-generation data when estimating savings
Lower energy costs: Cenex estimates that fuel costs can fall by 20–60%, depending on electricity and diesel prices and how the vehicle is used
Maintenance: Current evidence suggests maintenance costs can be similar to those of diesel waste and recycling vehicles. Actual costs will depend on vehicle design, duty cycle, servicing arrangements and fleet experience
Higher purchase costs: Specialist battery electric HGVs can cost substantially more than equivalent diesel vehicles. Cenex cites a typical purchase cost around 2.5 times that of diesel for specialist battery electric HGVs. This should be treated as a broad benchmark, not a verified price premium for every eRCV configuration

The right comparison is total cost of ownership (TCO), including the vehicle, energy, maintenance, charging infrastructure, financing and operational implications.

Recognise Where Battery Electric May Be More Challenging

Battery electric vehicles are suitable for many refuse collection duties, but some operations require more careful assessment. These include double-shifted vehicles, high-mileage commercial collections, specialist configurations and rounds with demanding energy requirements.

The challenge is not necessarily the vehicle type alone. A split-body configuration, for example, is not automatically unsuitable for electrification, but its additional equipment, collection method and energy consumption must be understood. Seasonal garden waste operations can also change payloads and collection volumes throughout the year, affecting energy demand.

Real-world range depends on several factors:

Route characteristics: Total distance, elevation changes, gradients, stop-start driving and time spent moving at low speeds
Payload: Both the weight carried and how that weight changes throughout the round
Collection activity: Number of stops and lifts, compaction cycles, body configuration and auxiliary equipment use
Operating conditions: Temperature, traffic, shift patterns and the time available to recharge

Manufacturer range figures are a starting point, not a guarantee. Model energy demand using representative operational data, including demanding rounds and seasonal peaks, before committing to a vehicle.

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EV suitability assessment by vehicle role
Cost comparison against your current fleet
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Phased implementation plan

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Hydrogen: Where Could It Fit?

Hydrogen fuel cell refuse vehicles remain an emerging option, with limited deployment compared with battery electric vehicles. They may be worth investigating for particular operations, especially where vehicles run multiple shifts and have little time available for charging.

However, operators need to consider vehicle availability, purchase costs, hydrogen prices, refuelling infrastructure and the emissions associated with hydrogen production. Hydrogen produced using grid electricity is not automatically low-carbon, and its environmental benefit depends on how it is made.

Aberdeen City Council has operated an early hydrogen refuse vehicle using its own refuelling infrastructure and hydrogen produced on site using electricity from a green tariff. Rapid refuelling can be useful for intensive operations, but the overall case depends on the availability and cost of both vehicles and fuel.

For fleets with predictable rounds and sufficient overnight depot dwell, battery electric is often the more straightforward option to assess first. Hydrogen can be considered where operational requirements or future technology developments justify further investigation.

Plan: Baseline Your Rounds and Depots

Planning for an electric refuse fleet starts with the work the vehicles perform, not the vehicles themselves. Two rounds with similar mileage can have very different energy requirements because of their routes, payloads, collection activity and body configurations.

Baseline Your Rounds

For each round, collect the following information.

Data to Collect	What to Capture
Distance and shifts	Daily mileage, shift patterns, start and finish times, and whether the vehicle is double-shifted
Energy and fuel use	Historical diesel consumption, ideally matched to individual vehicles and rounds
Collection activity and body use	Number of stops and lifts, compaction cycles, split-body configuration and energy used by other equipment
Route characteristics	Road gradients, elevation changes, stop density, traffic conditions and typical speeds
Payload and collection volume	Weight carried, how payload changes throughout the round, and the volume of waste collected. Where possible, distinguish between waste streams and seasonal variations
Costs and availability	Vehicle purchase or lease costs, maintenance, downtime and any operational costs associated with changing the fleet
Depot return times	When vehicles return, when they need to leave again and how much charging time is available
Vehicle requirements	The vehicle types and configurations that could meet the fleet's operational needs, including payload, body compatibility, manoeuvrability and available electric models
Future fleet plans	Expected changes in fleet size, collection services and operating patterns. Consider whether modest changes to fleet numbers or vehicle allocation could make electrification more practical, while accounting for the additional cost and operational capacity required
Road network and access constraints	Map the streets and roads each vehicle can legally and practically use, taking account of vehicle dimensions, weight restrictions, access limitations and turning requirements. OpenStreetMap data and Unique Street Reference Number (USRN) datasets can help build a road-network baseline, but should be checked against current restrictions and local operational knowledge

Use real telematics and fuel records wherever possible. Daily averages are useful for an initial assessment, but higher-resolution data, such as five-minute intervals, can reveal differences in driving behaviour, stopping, energy use and auxiliary loads that daily totals may hide.

Planned collection routes should ideally identify individual properties and their expected collection points. Where that level of detail is unavailable, street-by-street routes are a useful alternative. This helps estimate stopping frequency, road characteristics, collection activity and the likely work required on each round.

With suitable data, energy models can estimate the likely battery consumption and remaining range of an electric vehicle on existing rounds before a physical trial. The Welsh Government's waste vehicle programme has developed route-performance tools using observed vehicle data to support this type of assessment.

Estimate Energy Demand and Prioritise Rounds

Before classifying rounds as suitable or unsuitable, estimate their energy requirements using the vehicle's expected efficiency and the work it will perform. Include body and auxiliary energy consumption, payload, terrain, operating conditions and the energy needed to complete the round with an appropriate reserve.

Test the estimates against real-world vehicle data wherever possible. Assess normal operations as well as demanding scenarios, including seasonal peaks and unusually heavy collections.

Group rounds into three bands:

Ready to assess for electrification: Estimated energy demand sits comfortably within the vehicle's usable battery capacity, with sufficient time to recharge before the next shift
Needs further testing: Longer rounds, steep gradients, heavy or variable payloads, intensive body use or significant seasonal variation require more detailed modelling or a vehicle trial
Requires operational changes or an alternative solution: The available vehicle cannot reliably meet the duty cycle, even after reasonable charging and scheduling changes. Double-shifted vehicles, high-mileage commercial collections and specialist configurations may fall into this category, depending on the specific operation

At Rushcliffe Borough Council, a Cenex assessment found that 45% of the fleet, mostly light commercial vehicles, could already transition to battery electric. Its 32-tonne rigid trucks required further consideration of alternatives, including hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), or operational changes.

Assess the Depot

The depot determines how vehicles can be charged and how quickly the fleet can transition. Review:

Area to Review	What to Check
Power supply	Agreed import capacity, existing peak demand and the headroom available for charging
Space and layout	Parking arrangements, vehicle movements, charger locations, cable routes and room for future expansion
Charging schedules	How many vehicles need to charge at once, their dwell times and the energy each requires before departure
Grid connection	Whether an upgrade is needed, the likely cost and the lead time
Renewables and storage	Space and suitability for solar PV, battery energy storage or other local generation. Assess these alongside charging demand, site constraints and the potential to reduce peak imports
Shared infrastructure	Whether charging could be shared with other council departments or private fleets during periods when refuse vehicles are away from the depot

If projected charging demand could exceed the site's agreed import capacity, speak to your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) early. Ask about available capacity, connection options, upgrade costs and lead times before finalising vehicle procurement or charger specifications.

Charging infrastructure should be sized around the vehicles' actual duty cycles and operating patterns. Smart charging and load management may help make better use of existing capacity and reduce the need for expensive upgrades, although their effectiveness depends on the site's demand profile and charging windows.

Design for the Full Fleet

Plan the depot around the likely end state of the fleet, even if the first stage involves only one or two electric vehicles.

This means mapping where vehicles will park, where chargers could be installed, how cables will reach each bay, how vehicles will manoeuvre safely and how the site's electrical demand will change as more vehicles become electric. It also means considering whether charging needs to be staggered and how the depot will operate during vehicle movements, maintenance and shift changes.

Where practical, install ducting, cable routes, foundations and other civil infrastructure for future charging bays during the initial works, even if the chargers themselves will be installed later. Groundworks can be disruptive and expensive to repeat, so allowing for future expansion may reduce the cost and disruption of subsequent phases.

Phase charger installation around vehicle deliveries and operational requirements. Avoid committing to more charging capacity than is needed today, but make sure early decisions do not unnecessarily restrict future expansion.

Compare Total Cost of Ownership

Purchase price alone does not show whether an electric refuse vehicle makes financial sense. Assess the cost of operating the vehicle over its expected service life, comparing equivalent vehicles performing the same work.

Include:

Vehicle purchase or lease costs and financing
Electricity and diesel costs, including charging losses where relevant
Maintenance, servicing, tyres and downtime
Charging equipment, installation, civil works and grid upgrades
Energy management and ongoing infrastructure costs
Changes to vehicle numbers, shift patterns, routes or operating procedures
Residual value and any applicable grants or other financial support

Cenex reports that fuel costs can fall by 20–60%, while maintenance costs may be similar to diesel. However, these savings will vary with the electricity tariff, diesel price, charging strategy, annual mileage and vehicle duty cycle.

Higher upfront vehicle costs and depot investment can make the transition financially challenging, particularly where vehicles have low annual mileage or require expensive infrastructure upgrades. Compare the options on a consistent basis and check current funding eligibility before making investment decisions.

Our HGV TCO Calculator can help establish a baseline for the financial comparison.

Scale: Phase the Rollout

Once the pilot has established which rounds can be electrified, how much energy they require, how charging fits into depot operations and what the costs look like, use those findings to plan a phased rollout.

Start with the rounds that are easiest to electrify, then progress to more demanding operations as vehicles, infrastructure and operational experience develop. Review performance at each stage before committing to the next.

As the fleet grows, consider redefining and reoptimising rounds to suit a mixed electric and diesel fleet. Allocating the most suitable rounds to electric vehicles can improve utilisation, reduce energy costs and bring forward the point at which further vehicles can be electrified.

Match Charging to the Depot

Westminster City Council provides an example of large-scale depot electrification. It has invested £20 million in 45 battery electric refuse collection vehicles as part of plans to replace its fleet of 85. Its operator, Veolia, procured, designed and operates a new all-electric depot that can charge up to 54 vehicles at once, using smart charging to shift demand away from peak periods. Each vehicle is expected to save up to 89% in greenhouse gas emissions.

The lesson is that charging infrastructure needs to be designed around vehicle movements, charging windows and the wider site's electrical capacity, rather than simply installing one charger for every vehicle.

Manage Charging Load and Share Infrastructure

Refuse vehicles often return to the depot for predictable periods overnight, allowing charging to be staggered according to departure times and energy requirements. This can reduce peak demand and help limit the electrical capacity required. Smart charging automates this process, prioritising vehicles that need to leave sooner or require more energy.

There may also be opportunities to share chargers with other council departments or private fleets. Refuse vehicles are typically away from the depot during collection hours, potentially leaving charging points available for vehicles that return during the day. Effective sharing requires compatible vehicles and chargers, suitable access arrangements and coordinated charging schedules.

FPS Operate Optimisation supports smart charging as an add-on to Operate Core. It can coordinate charging with operational requirements and site capacity, subject to integration with a transport management system (TMS) or fulfilment system and suitable site or sub-metering data.

Pilot data sits in telematics, charger back offices and fuel records. Operate Core brings it into one cloud platform, so you can report electric performance against a diesel baseline.

Control tower view of vehicles and charging infrastructure
Charger management and performance analytics
Automated alerts and reporting
Integration with telematics, charger networks and fuel cards

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Build Charging in Stages

St Helens Borough Council has introduced 34 new battery electric vehicles, including two resource recovery vehicles, and installed 25 charge points at its Hardshaw Brook depot as the first phase of its charging infrastructure. The council reports reduced repair downtime and lower maintenance costs.

A phased approach allows infrastructure investment to follow vehicle deliveries and operational requirements. However, each phase should fit within a longer-term depot plan, with future charger locations, cable routes and electrical capacity considered from the outset. Installing ducting and completing other civil works early can reduce disruption and avoid repeating expensive groundwork as the fleet expands.

Plan for the Hard Cases

Some rounds may not be suitable for immediate electrification. Identify these early, establish what interim measures are practical and set a date to reassess them as vehicle technology, infrastructure and operational experience develop. At Rushcliffe Borough Council, for example, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is being considered for some of its 32-tonne rigid trucks.

Do not assume that existing rounds must remain unchanged. Reoptimising routes and vehicle allocation can help make a mixed electric and diesel fleet work more efficiently, assigning electric vehicles to suitable rounds while retaining diesel vehicles for more demanding duties where necessary.

Over time, the same approach can support a transition towards a fully electric fleet. Routes can be redesigned around vehicle range, charging windows, payload requirements and collection schedules, potentially making rounds feasible that would not work with the original allocation. Any changes must still meet service requirements, collection constraints and crew working arrangements.

Common Challenges

Challenge	Mitigation
Body equipment draws power	Measure or estimate energy used by compaction, lifting and other equipment. Include it in route modelling, battery sizing and pilot evaluation
Range on demanding rounds	Model real routes, payloads, gradients and collection activity. Test challenging rounds before scaling and consider operational changes where needed
Higher purchase costs	Compare total cost of ownership over the vehicle's expected life, including energy, maintenance, infrastructure and available funding
Depot power and space	Assess electrical capacity and site layout early. Consult your DNO and plan infrastructure around actual duty cycles and future expansion
Charging availability	Stagger charging, prioritise vehicles by departure time and energy need, and assess whether chargers can be shared with other fleets
Mixed electric and diesel operations	Review vehicle allocation and optimise rounds to suit each vehicle's capabilities, while maintaining service levels and operational resilience
Hydrogen availability and cost	Assess the availability of suitable vehicles, refuelling infrastructure, fuel costs and emissions before committing to a deployment
Crew confidence	Involve drivers and operational teams early, provide training and use feedback from initial deployments to improve the rollout

Next Steps

Baseline your rounds: Gather distance, fuel use, payload, body activity, route data and depot return times.
Check depot capacity: Assess power supply, charging requirements and opportunities for shared charging. Contact your DNO early if upgrades may be needed.
Prioritise suitable rounds: Estimate energy demand and identify rounds ready for electrification, those needing trials and those requiring operational changes.
Compare total cost of ownership: Include vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy, maintenance and available grants.
Run a pilot: Test a suitable vehicle on a representative round, with success measures agreed in advance.

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Sources: Cenex, Introduction to Zero Emission Waste and Recycling Vehicles (Cenex Insight), including its summary of the Welsh Government Ultra-Low Emission Waste and Recycling Vehicles Programme and its case studies.