A garbage truck, called a rubbish truck in Australia, a bin lorry in the United Kingdom and a trash truck in parts of the United States, is a truck specially built to collect municipal solid waste and carry it to a treatment facility. The first self-propelled garbage trucks were ordered by London's Chiswick District Council in 1897 from Thornycroft, described at the time as steam motor tip-cars for the collection of dust and house refuse. Covered bodies replaced open-topped trucks in the 1920s to control odor and spillage, a cable-lift hopper design appeared in 1929, George Dempster introduced the wheeled-container Dumpster system in 1937, the Garwood Load Packer brought hydraulic compaction that roughly doubled truck capacity in 1938, and Scottsdale, Arizona introduced the first automated side-loading truck in 1969. Garbage trucks remain a fixture of urban infrastructure worldwide, and the shift from manual loading to automated systems has both improved collection efficiency and reduced worker injuries.
Facts
SignificanceBrought hydraulic compaction to waste collection through innovations such as the 1937 Dempster-Dumpster system and the 1938 Garwood Load Packer, roughly doubling a truck's carrying capacity. 1 Manufacturer or BuilderThornycroft Steam Wagon and Carriage Company 1 FAQs
How did garbage trucks learn to compact their loads?
The 1938 Garwood Load Packer added a hydraulic press that could double a truck's capacity.
Compaction arrived in 1938 with the Garwood Load Packer. According to Wikipedia, it used a hydraulic press that periodically compacted the contents of the truck, and the first compactor could double a truck's capacity. Earlier fixes had been simpler. Covered trucks replaced open-topped ones in the 1920s to stop foul odors and waste falling out, and a cable-pulled hopper appeared in 1929 so collectors no longer had to lift waste to shoulder height.
Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Garbage truck
WikipediaHistory section
In 1938, the Garwood Load Packer revolutionized the industry when including a compactor in the truck was implemented. The first compactor could double a truck's capacity.
In Group: Special-Purpose Trucks, Lead sentence
A garbage truck is a truck specially designed to collect municipal solid waste and transport it to a solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill, recycling center or transfer station.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.