A fleet of nine new garbage trucks capable of identifying what items have been bumped in local bins hit the streets of Mandurah last month.
The new trucks are equipped with a state-of-the-art camera and GPS system, which will allow Cleanaway workers to record details about the collection route and what materials are being dumped into waste and recycling bins.
The data collected by the workers will then assist the City of Mandurah in providing targeted recycling education programs.
Cleanaway southern WA manager Damien Moss said above all, the new trucks would increase the safety of both the operators and the community.
“With these vehicles the technology that we have on board is called Cleaner View and it allows us from a safety perspective capturing incidents on the road, traffic events,” he said.
“From a customer service point of view it allows us to capture correct use or customer service issues on the road.
“If bins are out, if they are used correctly and the like.”
Mr Moss said if the system recorded an incorrect use of the bins, the City’s recycling education officer would then be able to visit the household and educate them in safer recycling practices.
“It’s about recovering more from landfill and our aim is to make sustainable future possible,” he said.
“And then there’s the safety aspects around it.
“A lot of the recyclable material in particular gets handled by people after it is collected to be sorted, and we need to ensure no harm comes to them from materials in the bin.”
The new GPS system will also allow Cleanaway to remotely identify any faults and mechanical problems in the trucks from the operations centre.
It will also bring more sharpness and accuracy to the routing process and increase efficiency by reducing the use of time and resources.
The new fleet includes two new recycling vehicles, five new waste vehicles and two rear loaders for street and parking commercial collections.
On average, the vehicles cost between $360,000 and $370,000 and they transport waste produced in Mandurah to Cleanaway’s new $25-million recycling facility in South Guilford to be processed.
The vehicles also feature reversing sensors, on-board weighing systems and other technology to increase the safety and efficiency of the services.
Marta Pascual Juanola
Photojournalist from Barcelona, currently based in WA. Five languages speaker: English - Català - Español - Norsk - العربية.
Photojournalist from Barcelona, currently based in WA. Five languages speaker: English - Català - Español - Norsk - العربية.
