Old technology can solve a modern crisis | Letters
by Letters from Environment | The Guardian on (#4PRVT)
Dr Peter Hounsell writes that the electric bin lorries currently being trialled are nothing new, while Richard Ellam says that it used to be common for councils to burn rubbish to generate electricity
Your report on electric bin lorries powered by energy from household waste (5 September) that are being trialled by Sheffield and Westminster councils suggests that this may be a world first for local authorities.
This may well be the case in the 21st century, but Sheffield also claimed to be the first to do this back in 1915. Electric refuse collection vehicles were not uncommon in the early decades of the 20th century, and one manufacturer claimed to have 50 local authority customers for its vehicles.
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