Hills strengthen commercial collection fleet
Waste management and recycling specialist, Hills Waste Solutions, has added four new refuse collection vehicles (RCV) to its 60 strong commercial fleet.
Ed Dodd, group director for Hills Waste Solutions, said: “Hills has an ongoing commitment to upgrade all our commercial collection vehicles to the more fuel efficient, economical and lower emission Euro 6 specification. The acquisition of these new vehicles is a significant investment for us and we are pleased to have achieved this target with 46 of the RCVs in our fleet so far.”
Nathan Carr, fleet manager for Hills Waste Solutions, said: “Our customers expect reliability when it comes to their waste management and recycling collections, so investing in an upgraded fleet of vehicles is important for us.”
All Hills vehicles have tablets in the cab that utilise the PURGO system to manage collection rounds. This has been a great step forward in how Hills manages its service as customers receive waste transfer notes, invoices and all other notifications electronically which saves time and the reduction in paper is better for the environment.
The new vehicles have a bespoke specification comprising a Dennis Olympus body, Beta trade lift and 26 tonne Mercedes Econic chassis on a 6x2 rear steer chassis which adds manoeuvrability and allows the vehicle access to sites that a normal 26 tonne RCV would struggle with.
From the driver’s perspective, the low seating position gives a great view of the road and pavements which is essential when moving around busy towns and roads. It also allows the driver to have direct eye contact with cyclists and pedestrians at junctions or in traffic queues.
The lower entry, walk-through air conditioned cab gives the crew easy access and allows them to enter and exit the cab onto the traffic-free side of the road.
“The trucks are fitted with additional LEDs, a Brigade 4-way recordable camera system and an audible left turn trigger alarm. Two additional low level lights have been fitted at a 45 degree angle from the rear of the cab to improve the operating environment for the driver and loader in low light environments and to aid reversing.”
The four vehicles will operate out of Hills’ two transport depots at Purton near Swindon and Lower Compton near Calne – servicing both commercial and industrial customers’ waste management requirements across the region.