First in the world: a waste-compressing container powered by batteries

It was specially developed for the needs of the city of Rotterdam

The Municipality of Rotterdam reported last week on the introduction of yet another innovation in the field of circular development and sustainable waste management. In what is probably the first in the world, they have unveiled a waste container, that immediately compresses its contents and uses electricity from a battery for the purpose. Not only is this unique, but it has also been developed in Rotterdam and for Rotterdam.

Innovations in sustainable waste management

Pressing waste in waste containers immediately is not new – the city already has several of these vehicles. The immediate compression of waste helps ensure more efficiency in the process, as the container fills up more slowly and can operate for longer periods before going to disposal site. And being able to operate longer hours is especially important from ecological point of view as these containers consume a lot of power.

Usually, in Rotterdam such containers are located at environmental parks and are plugged in the electricity network. Now, thanks to the latest addition to the waste management fleet of Rotterdam, a compactor can work on a battery. This allows for the container truck to move freely, without the need of a permanent place.

This enables it to be placed closer to where sweepers are working, for example, so they do not move back and forth constantly. This is good for situations in which a lot of waste has to be swept at the same time, such as festivals, events or the leaf season. The sweepers can dump their dirt into the electric compactor directly.

Also, the municipality explains that regular containers are not particularly well suited for the process as sweepers cannot properly deposit waste in them. This can create waste to blow out and cause unpleasant smell. Hence the idea of a moving container with a compressing mechanism.

Finally, the new vehicle serves the goals of Rotterdam for a city with clean air. That is why there are more and more cars and machines that do not emit dirty emissions, such as the battery-powered press container.