UT Knoxville deploys Tennessee-built electric garbage truck — SkimNews
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- University of Tennessee deployed a new McNeilus Volterra ZFL electric garbage truck at its Knoxville campus this week, choosing the Made-in-Tennessee manufacturer to cut tailpipe emissions and diesel fuel use on campus collection routes.
- The Volterra ZFL is a Class 8 electric refuse truck with a 499 kWh battery pack (an optional 665 kWh pack is available) sending power through a high-torque e-axle, with McNeilus saying it is engineered for all-day operation on a single charge.
- Published specifications for the Volterra platform list up to 110 miles of route capability over a 10-hour shift — described in the announcement as more than enough for daily recycling duty around the Knoxville campus.
- The truck's regenerative braking and quiet operation were singled out as particularly useful for early-morning collection runs past dorms, libraries, and lecture halls.
- Lee Dreas, president of McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, called UT Knoxville "an ideal example of how purpose-built electric refuse and recycling collection vehicles can be integrated into demanding, real-world operations."
- Brad Moats, recycling supervisor at UT Knoxville Facilities Services, said the truck will be used to "measure its performance under real-world conditions" and help "guide the future of our fleet."
Why it matters: UT Knoxville gives McNeilus a high-profile in-state customer for its Volterra ZFL platform, validating a 499 kWh, Class 8 electric refuse truck on real daily routes. If performance tracks the published 110-mile-per-shift spec, the deployment offers a concrete reference point for other campus and municipal fleets weighing electrification of stop-and-start waste collection.
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