Exeter City Council has taken delivery of a new fleet of refuse vehicles as part of a new seven-year fleet contract hire agreement with Specialist Fleet Services (SFS). 

The contract, which could be extended for another seven years, encompasses the provision and maintenance of approximately 210 vehicles ranging from 26-tonne refuse vehicles, sweepers, hook loaders, and tippers to vans, cars, telehandlers and grounds maintenance equipment. The new fleet includes a number of electric vehicles.

The first delivery of new vehicles sees seven 26-tonne Dennis Eagle refuse vehicles with the latest Euro 6 engines. They are fitted with reverse radar, and 360-degree camera systems plus cyclist detection and warning technology, and auto-braking systems, from Vision Techniques. 

The council has also taken delivery of a Kramer telehandler and a Hako compact sweeper.

Simon Hill, service manager – Recycling, Waste and Fleet at Exeter City Council, said: “The contract with SFS is allowing us to speed up the replacement of our older vehicles and introduce the latest models, which have a higher level of emission control and are equipped with the latest safety technology.

“SFS have also provided us with more electric vans and cars, so we now have over a dozen electric vehicles on our fleet. In the future, when the technology is properly tried and tested, we hope to be able to introduce electric refuse vehicles to the fleet.”

Exeter City Council uses the BARTEC Auto ID system to schedule and manage commercial waste collections. It has fitted bin-weighing equipment to five of the new refuse vehicles, enabling the authority to analyse each collection, plan rounds more efficiently and determine costs more accurately. 

Bob Sweetland, managing director of SFS, said: “These vehicles will not only enhance the efficiency of collections across Exeter, they are also cleaner and safer. We will be delivering further vehicles over the term of the contract as existing vehicles are due for replacement.”