Geesinknorba RCVs Ready for Waste & Recycling Collections in Tenerife

The Spanish division of Dutch waste collection vehicle manufacturer, Geesinknorba Spain has delivered five GPM III refuse collection vehicles to waste and recycling company, Urbaser on the island of Tenerife. The five new GPM III 15H25 vehicles offer a 15 cubic metre capacity, and each feature the Geesinknorba GCB 1000 bin lift which is capable of emptying DIN type containers from 80 – 1100 litres capacity. All the vehicles have been soundproofed to provide minimum disruption to residents and tourists when collecting waste at night and in the early hours of the morning. They have also been fitted with high visibility flashing beacons and high visibility working lights to provide safety for crew, pedestrians and other vehicles when collecting waste at night and early morning. The new RCVs also feature the Smartpack system, which is said to offer fuel savings of up to 20% when in operation. The system is also claimed to help to reduce noise and emissions which is an important factor when collecting waste on an island heavily populated by residents and tourists. The new vehicles have been mounted onto a Mercedes Axor 1833 two axle 4x2 chassis of 18,000 kgs gross vehicle weight. The chassis features a 330 hp (246 kW) Euro V engine matched to an eight speed manual transmission. All the Mercedes Axor chassis feature a day cab which can accommodate a driver and up to two crew personnel. The new collection vehicles were handed over to representatives of Urbaser at its depot in La Laguna by Miguel Angel Hernan del Campo Delegation for Geesinknorba Spain for the central area of Spain and the Canary Islands. Training Full operator training was provided for management, operatives and maintenance staff at Urbaser regarding the safe use and maintenance of the GPM III equipments. The training was provided to operatives by Javier Martin Izquierdo, parts and service manager for Geesinknorba Spain, and covered the safe operation of the vehicle’s compaction equipment, bin lifting equipment and the raising of the tailgate and load discharge. Training on the use of the Eurovim canbus and hydraulic systems were also provided for Urbaser’s maintenance personal. According to Eladio Bermejo Garrido, manager of the workshop and maintenance at Urbaser’s La Laguna depot and workshop, Urbaser has used Geesinknorba vehicles previously, and has found them to offer significant cost savings compared to previous vehicles thanks to low operational and maintenance costs. He said that these costs had been realised over a number of years operating the equipment and it is now the main choice of waste collection vehicle for Urbaser, both on Tenerife and on mainland Spain. Operational duties Urbaser purchased the new vehicles for use in the municipalities of Mancommunidad Del North de Tenerife, which consists of a number of towns and villages such as Tacoronte, El Sauzal, La Matanza de Acentejo, La Victoria de Acentejo and Santa Ursula. The company has operated the waste collection service for these municipalities in the north of Tenerife for a number of years. The collection service is provided through two shifts, one at night and the other in the morning. In Mancommunidad Del North de Tenerife fifteen vehicles, varying from 15 to 22 cubic metre capacities, provide the waste collection service. All of Urbaser’s vehicles in the north of Tenerife feature a bin lift to facilitate the emptying of DIN type containers from 80 – 1100 litres capacity, and are all manufactured by Geesinknorba. The waste is collected in 800 litre containers positioned at communal collection points along the streets, and emptied by a driver and two personal. The collection service is provided six days a week with no collection taking place on a Sunday. Once the waste has been collected, it is delivered to the waste transfer plant of La Orotava near Puerto de la Cruz, except on Saturdays when the waste is delivered to the waste transfer plant at El Rosario near to Santa Cruz. During the week each vehicle collects one load of waste per day from the municipalities of Mancommunidad Del North de Tenerife, except on Monday night when they collect two loads. This is due to the additional increase in waste because of the lack of a Sunday service. The waste is discharged into static compactors at La Orotava and El Rosario waste transfer stations where it is compressed into hermetically sealed containers and transported to the waste treatment plant situated at Arico, which processes all waste produced in Tenerife. 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