Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) proves its commitment to a greener city by taking delivery of a mini electric garbage truck from Etran (Thailand) to help the city collect garbage in narrow sois.

Bangkok deputy permanent secretary Wantanee Wattana accepted the truck in a ceremony at Wat Thong Sutharam School in Bang Sue district on Tuesday. She was joined by officials of Bang Sue district office, who also participated in tree planting in the school area.

The project is a collaboration between Etran (Thailand), a leading electric vehicle manufacturer and King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, which helped design a small garbage truck that can navigate the narrow sois in Bangkok’s communities.

The prototype of the mini electric garbage truck was tested at the Wat Liab Rat Bamrung Community in Bang Sue district which has narrow roads connecting several households. In the past, BMA’s garbage collectors had to walk some 2 kilometres to reach the far end of the community then lug the garbage bags back to the main road.

With the help of the mini garbage truck, considerable effort and manpower can be saved and the garbage taken to the waste disposal facility in a short time, increasing overall efficiency while not putting a burden on collectors’ health.

Wantanee said the BMA aims to use electric mini garbage trucks in communities with narrow roads throughout the city to reduce the problem of leftover garbage. The campaign will also promote better sanitary practices in urban areas while reducing air pollution caused by traditional garbage trucks that use fossil fuels.