Recology testing hydrogen-powered refuse truck in San Francisco

Recology, a San Francisco-based employee-owned waste and recycling company, has begun testing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric refuse collection vehicle in San Francisco.

The refuse collection vehicle was built in partnership with New Way Trucks, a Scranton, Iowa-based refuse truck body manufacturer, and fuel cell manufacturer and technology developer Hyzon, based in Rochester, New York.

Recology will be the first waste and recycling company to pilot this hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric refuse vehicle in the U.S., and San Francisco will be the first city in North America to test it on urban streets, reinforcing the company’s and the city’s efforts to reduce waste and use clean energy.

“In our quest to help protect the environment and address climate change, San Francisco is once again leading the nation in testing new approaches and equipment,” Recology CEO Salvatore M. Coniglio says. “Recology’s leadership on recycling and composting helped make San Francisco ‘the greenest big city in the nation’; now we are leading the way on sustainable operations.”

RELATED: Hyzon, New Way say hydrogen-powered refuse collection gaining momentum

Recology has long emphasized fleet sustainability. In 2019, the company put into service the nation’s first electric Class 8 rear loader in Seattle. Since then, Recology has tested electric collection vehicles throughout its operations and has prioritized the use of renewable or alternative fuels in its fleet, reducing the company’s emissions from fuel use by more than 77 percent since 2018.

Recology’s trial of the new hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks on San Francisco streets tracks with regional leaders’ efforts to bring a similar technology to the ferry boats that traverse San Francisco Bay every day.

“Addressing climate change and air pollution, regionally and nationally, requires us to look at the vehicles we rely on every day to provide essential services to our communities," says Tyrone Jue, Director of the San Francisco Environment Department. "Recology has long partnered with the city to protect our environment by pioneering how we reduce waste. Now I’m excited to see how Recology is also helping us meet our aggressive greenhouse reduction goals through cleaner vehicles."

Recology leadership got an early look at the new technology late last year, and New Way and Hyzon debuted the hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric refuse vehicle at Waste Expo in Las Vegas in May.

“When I saw the incredible strides New Way and Hyzon were making toward a zero-emission future for our industry, I knew Recology needed to bring this technology to San Francisco,” Coniglio says.

The first-of-its-kind refuse truck will be put to the test on routes in San Francisco, with Recology’s employee-owners at the wheel, over the next two weeks. After piloting this unique truck in San Francisco, Recology will test it in other Bay Area cities. New Way and Hyzon have scheduled additional trials throughout California later this year, to be followed by more trials in Canada.

Hyzon’s high-performance hydrogen fuel cell systems have been shown to provide consistent power over an expected range of at least 125 miles, including at least 1,200 cart lifts, along with trips to transfer stations.