Residents in parts of Sutherland Shire could get a little more sleep when a quieter, electric-powered garbage truck takes to the road.
Sutherland Shire Council will conduct a three months' trial of the garbage truck and an electric-powered compact street sweeper.
The trial of the rear loader garbage truck, in which the original diesel engine is replaced by an electric motor and battery power pack drive system, will start in September this year.
The compact sweeper trial will begin in March next year.
The electric vehicles (EVs) will be supplied as prototypes at no cost, apart from battery charging.
Sutherland Shire will be the first area in Australia to trial the compact sweeper.
In addition, the council has bought four Hyundai Ioniq Electric cars, plus charging infrastructure. They will join the fleet in July this year.
Fast charging, dual AC units will be located in the council's administration building car park and Kirrawee depot.
The council will work towards installing a solar panel system at both sites through government grant funding.
The range of the EV cars on a full charge is 230km - 280km, with an energy cost of $0.02/km.
Council's existing petrol engine pool vehicles travel an average of 43 kilometres a day, with a fuel cost $0.16/km.
Councillors unanimously supported the EV initiatives when a staff report was given to this week's meeting.
The report said the measures were designed to support future reductions in the council's vehicle fleet emissions and operating costs.
The report said there was no current commercially produced heavy EVs offered by the original equipment manufacturers, including Isuzu, Iveco, Hino and Volvo, but vehicles retrofitted with electric motors and drive systems were becoming available.
