New Cambria County recycling collection truck unveiled

EBENSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Cambria County Solid Waste Authority has a new addition to the team that will make things easy and convenient for residents in the county.

On Wednesday, the Solid Waste Authority held a ribbon cutting to inaugurate a new recycling collection truck. The new ‘R12’ truck is a 2024 Peterbilt tandem-axle, dual wheel chassis, which is powered by compressed natural gas.

It can carry up to 40 yards of recyclables that may weigh up to 25,000 pounds per truckload. The cost of the truck is approximately $350,000. The financing for the truck was provided by Ameriserv Bank.

“Our message is to take care of our environment. So, in order to personify that, we want to be as considerate and as conscientious as possible about how we treat our environment,” Kris Howdyshell, Executive Director of the Cambria County Solid Waste Authority said.

According to the authority, R12 travels approximately 100 miles each day, collecting recyclables from their sites across the county. They started working on the grant for this truck in 2020, and they were able to order the truck in the fall of 2021, and it was just delivered recently.

“That has to do with supply chain issues and also the fact that because it is a CNG vehicle, there’s not as big a demand as compared to the other power sources. So that created a long-term weight for us and it’s all worked out in the end,” Howdyshell said.

There are currently three vehicles for the waste authority in service.

“We’re always looking to procure our next vehicle through grants. We pretty much rely solely on grants to provide our capital funding, and we do look to the future,” Howdyshell said.

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He added that it could be another year before another new truck can be ordered.

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