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Kerbloader EV
Kerbloader EV spearheads Worksop plant’s green credentials
Recycling is an essential part of society’s duty of care for the environment but to conduct recycling collections in an environmentally sensitive way has presented a significant challenge in the past. For domestic services, collecting multiple separated waste streams in one visit using one vehicle was an important goal. And Terberg Matec UK successfully achieved this by developing the Kerbloader® vehicle.
With the all electric Kerbloader EV, Terberg Matec UK has considered the key aspects of environmental care and produced a zero emissions version of their successful kerbside sort recycling vehicle
While still providing outstanding operational and cost efficiency, it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change or the nitrogen oxide gases and particulates associated with local air pollution. Instead of being mounted on a diesel chassis, the Kerbloader EV body and control systems have been re-engineered to create a version that will integrate with an electric chassis. Everything that was powered by the diesel engine is now powered by the electric chassis.
Just as its diesel-powered cousin provides a durable, safe and flexible solution to one-pass recycling collections, so too does the Kerbloader EV but in a cleaner, quieter way. It collects up to seven different waste streams and keeps them separate, with overall payloads of around 3.2 tonnes.
It is robust, easy to load, quick to unload and discharge and it is safe. And Terberg Matec UK’s attention to detail means the Kerbloader EV retains all the valued credentials of the original vehicle. These include: • High grade stainless steel and composite GRP board to make the Kerbloader EV corrosionfree. • The automated plastic and can-press system and heavy-duty card-press significantly improve payload and efficiency. • A noise-reducing system is fitted to the glass collection compartments. And glass is unloaded at the rear to reduce the risk of tyre-shredding. • Discharge of materials is controlled from inside the cab which is both quicker and safer for the driver and crew. • Stillages are removed with a fork-lift truck to avoid the “pushing-and-pulling” injuries associated with manual handling. • LED lighting illuminates the working area. LEDs in internal compartments help avoid crosscontamination. • There is also a colour HMI touch-screen in the cab for the vehicle and diagnostics systems.
The result is a highly efficient and manoeuvrable one-pass recycling vehicle which will help local authorities and other operators reduce their carbon footprint and also meet increasingly urgent air pollution targets. The electric motor is also much quieter than the diesel engine. Reduced noise means collections can be made from sensitive locations at different times without causing disturbance. And better acceleration and torque in these typically stopstart operations can speed up collections to increase operational efficiency.
The Kerbloader EV has just successfully completed trials with the local authority in Anglesey in Wales and the feedback has been excellent. Among the key points they highlighted were the almost silent running and reduced vibration which provided much greater crew comfort while the quieter operation and cleaner air benefitted everyone in the vicinity.
Now, as the first customers place orders, the arrival of the Kerbloader EV means the future of one-pass recycling in the UK is assured as diesel engines are phased out.
Terberg Matec UK Managing Director Will Marzano said: “In order for this electric vehicle to make a positive impact, it first needs to be outstanding at the job it is intended for. And it is.
“Loading cans, plastic and cardboard is very quick and more efficient thanks to excellent compaction systems we’ve introduced. It is also very quick discharge its load.
“And the perennial problem of tyre-shredding, caused by driving over broken glass at waste transfer stations, has been largely overcome by replacing side discharging glass chambers with rear facing ones that not and could save operators thousands of pounds a year.
“Ultimately, we recycle for environmental reasons. The Kerbloader EV is simply the next, logical step towards the same important goal. “The design and engineering process undertaken, so that this vehicle can be properly integrated with an electric chassis, is remarkable. I’m delighted with the end result and I know our customers will be too.”
And with environmental issues a clear driving force in Terberg Matec UK’s operations, the Worksop facility which produces its recycling vehicles has also been transformed with sustainability in mind.
Full LED lighting, energy recovery systems, solar panels and the full recycling of materials are among the initiatives constantly improving its environmental credentials.
And of course, the company is ready to turn its attention to its other vehicles. “We already have plans drawn up to provide electric versions of the ORUS, the Plastic Bodied Utility Vehicle (PBUV) and the Olympus Mini,” added Will Marzano.
Will Marzano
Ultimately, we recycle for environmental reasons.
