Borough buys new garbage truck; delivery could take a year

Garbage trucks are no different than all the other things consumers order but have to wait an extra-long time to arrive.

The borough is spending almost $300,000 on a new garbage can and dumpster picker-upper and trash-hauling truck. The company told the borough it could be a year before arrival.

“They can’t even get the chassis from the manufacturer to make the truck,” Borough Public Works Director Tom Wetor said last week.

A 16-cubic-yard, automated side-loader will be installed on a Freightliner chassis. It’s basically the same as the borough’s two existing trucks, Wetor said.

The fully assembled and delivered price is $295,193, from an Anchorage equipment dealer.

The borough is covering the entire cost from state grant funds, distributed to the community to help make up for sales tax, harbor fees and other revenues lost during the worst of the pandemic slowdown in the economy. The grant totaled almost half-a-million dollars.

In addition to the garbage truck, the borough is considering using the grant to pay for replacing the exterior siding at the community center and swimming pool building.

“The current garbage trucks are 12 years old. Industry standards call for replacing garbage trucks every eight to 10 years,” Wetor reported in his write-up for the assembly, which approved the purchase without objection June 14.

“Over the last several years these trucks have been showing increased signs of aging. In 2021, the air brake systems, mechanical arms and paddles in both trucks needed significant work or full replacement. One of the trucks is leaking engine oil and another the differential is starting to go,” he added.

“The wheel wells and bumpers are starting to rust out. The (garbage) boxes are starting to rot away, and pressure with the paddle (that pushes the trash to the back of the box) makes this a safety concern,” Wetor wrote. “Wiring is beginning to be a problem.”

The existing trucks will provide “the maximum supply of spare parts to get several more years before needing another new truck,” he explained in his report for the assembly. “Garbage trucks are some of our heaviest used equipment.”

The new truck could arrive sooner than a year from now, he said. When it does get here from the Alabama factory via Seattle, it will be blue.