The effect of eco-driving initiatives toward sustainable urban waste collection

Waste collection is a daily operation common to all cities. Nonetheless, the energy-saving potential, and thus the greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, of such collecting process are still hardly addressed in the literature. This study assesses, considering the bottom-line of sustainability, a broader range of eco-driving techniques applied to the urban waste collection trucks’ fleet of a municipal urban cleaning company, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eco-driving training was offered to 22 drivers in a fleet of 11 trucks, which operate in two different scenarios: a stop-and-go cycle and a transfer operation to a single delivery point. As results, eco-driving techniques provide economic returns according to the mileage driven. The practice not only has effects on fuel economy, up to US$18,507.55 per month for a fleet of 43 vehicles, but also mitigates 7.1% of CO2-e emissions and local air pollutants.