The cleaners Osman Kilic and Barhdad Bouchlarham officially put the first electric street sweeper of Amsterdam into operation together with alderman Hester van Buren (Waste and Cleaning).

Replacement of Diesel Vehicles

The rest of the 89 emission-free street sweepers will hit the streets of Amsterdam in the coming years. We are currently installing charging points at the depots. The street sweepers we are currently using run on HVO100. This is a cleaner biodiesel that emits 90 percent less than regular diesel, but is not completely emission-free yet. The new electric street sweepers emit no harmful substances at all. A nice improvement.

Employees Trained

The cleaning staff have undergone training to operate the electric street sweepers. They work a bit differently. They have learned how to set the machine to use as little power as possible. The planning also requires extra attention as charging the battery takes 6 hours. Once charged, the batteries can last a full day shift. The first experiences from colleagues are positive.

Sustainable Fleet

Alderman van Buren (Waste and Cleaning): “The electric street sweepers that will be driving through the city from today are a nice step in making our fleet more sustainable. With the Cleaning Department, we contribute to the goals of a completely emission-free fleet by 2030. But we are not there yet. We also see challenges, such as the availability of vehicles, charging facilities, and grid congestion issues.”