First of new waste collection trucks arrive with a focus on safety
02 November 2022
The first four of 28 new waste trucks have arrived to service Ipswich’s rapidly growing city, replace an aging fleet and ensure an efficient waste collection service for residents with additional safety features.
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Chair Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said 12 of the world-leading vehicles will be on the region’s roads by Christmas with the remaining 16 available in 2023.
“As Queensland’s fastest growing city, there is, on average, 135 new bins put out every week for collection,” Mayor Harding said.
“These new trucks will help ensure Ipswich Waste Services keep up with the significant service and population growth the city is experiencing.
“The growth is not necessarily evenly spread, with areas such as Spring Mountain, Ripley and South Ripley growing rapidly.
“To address this, council will commence a review in early 2023 of our collection days across the city with an aim of improved service delivery that is more cost effective for residents.”
Mayor Harding said Wacol-based Volvo and Eagle Farm-based Superior Pak are involved in the manufacturing and delivery of the 28 new trucks.
“We will have some of the most modern waste collection vehicles on our roads with cameras and technology that significantly improves community safety with this new fleet," Mayor Harding said.
“This new side arm collection fleet was chosen after a detailed procurement exercise that concluded with Volvo chassis and Superior Pak bodies.
“They will service all waste, recycling and organic wheelie bins across the city.”
Growth, Infrastructure and Waste Committee Deputy Chairperson Councillor Paul Tully said the new fleet comes with some of the most modern technology in the industry.
“The trucks feature at least 12 cameras watching in all directions - including waste going into the hopper. There is also the latest version of collision-avoidance, lane-departure, radars and auto braking technology,” Cr Tully said.
“As part of a major focus on safety, Ipswich Waste Services is the first customer of a new pedestrian-detection technology that has been added to the vehicles.
“This system specifically looks for people who may enter the exclusion zone around the lifting arms and automatically stops the action if someone is detected.”
Council will maintain most of its existing collection fleet in the short term, as the new vehicles arrive, to ensure that sufficient vehicles are always available as the busy summer season approaches.