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NEW GARBAGE TRUCKS
Manteca saving $170,000 on pair
MCC garbage

Manteca has found another way to keep a lid on city solid waste charges.

Municipal staff is recommending the City Council Tuesday move up a planned purchase of two new solid waste collection trucks powered by compressed natural gas by a least a year to save $170,000. They found two CNG chassis trucks the city can buy at a substantial savings. The two chassis are two years old but have been used as floor models making them essentially new. When combined with required components to make collection runs in Manteca, they will cost $330,000 each compared to the $415,000 of a new model.

The trucks will replace two 12-year-old side loader garbage trucks that were originally purchased to use in alleys.  The trucks have a smaller capacity. They are now rarely used since the city’s newer trucks that are larger and are equipped with mechanical arms can work in tighter spaces. That means they require less trips to the landfill allowing more pickups to be made during a shift.

Manteca, along with other, California cities is under a state mandate to replace solid waste trucks with cleaner burning vehicles. The city opted to wed a needed wastewater treatment upgrade with a biogas production facility to combine methane gas with food waste to produce fuel to eventually power its entire solid waste fleet.

Roughly a third of the city’s existing 27 solid waste trucks now run on fuel produced at the wastewater treatment plant.

City of Manteca solid waste trucks have a typical lifespan of 10 years. The industry standard for running garbage trucks is seven years.  Several in recent years have been used for 15 years before being replaced.

The council on Tuesday is also expected to give the go ahead to replace a front loader stuck that was damaged by an internal fire in August 2018. The city had set aside $265,000 to be wedded with a $117,000 insurance payment the city recently received. There is a $24,000 shortfall due to increased costs. The council is being asked to transfer the $24,000 from a reserve account so the truck can now be ordered.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com