Household waste collection

Household waste collection is the most widespread form of waste gathering – the daily or weekly emptying of detached houses, terraced housing and apartment buildings. High demands are placed on reliability, capacity and ergonomics, as the vehicles typically make hundreds of stops per day and operate in dense neighbourhoods with varying road quality.

Nordic requirements and bin types

Municipalities and waste collection companies use a wide range of bins – from 80-litre containers to 660-litre large bins. Different waste fractions such as residual waste, food waste, paper and plastic packaging require different handling, and increasingly strict sorting requirements mean many operators now collect two or more fractions per route.

Terrain and infrastructure vary considerably: narrow city streets, steep hills and long distances between stops in rural areas. The equipment must function safely and efficiently under all these conditions – including cold and snowy weather.

Terberg rear loaders – the workhorses

The Terberg Olympus series is among the most widely used rear loaders in the Nordics for household waste collection. With compaction volumes from 15 to 25 m³, they cover everything from smaller municipal routes to large-city operations. The press mechanism is robust and reliable, and the lifter is adapted to Nordic standard bins.

Olympus can be supplied with a range of lifter configurations for bins from 80 to 660 litres and is well suited for varied routes with many different bin types.

Two-compartment rear loaders – two fractions per trip

Where the municipality requires separation of, for example, food and residual waste in separate bins, two-compartment solutions are highly effective. Terberg DualPack and Viking collect two waste fractions in one vehicle, halving the number of trips and significantly reducing costs and emissions.

The load is kept separated throughout the entire route and discharged separately. This is particularly relevant where the operator must deliver fractions to different facilities.

Automatic lifters – ergonomics and efficiency

To reduce wear and injury risk for collection workers, automatic lifters have become increasingly common. These lift and empty bins without the driver needing to leave the cab, and are particularly valuable on long routes or in municipalities requiring single-operator service.

Automatic lifters can be combined with both single and two-compartment rear loaders and are adapted to the bin types on the route.

Drivetrain and environment

Terberg rear loaders can be supplied with diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric/hybrid drivetrains. Several municipalities now set environmental requirements for their waste collection fleet, and electric solutions are particularly relevant in urban areas with emission zones or noise restrictions.

Mounting, service and chassis swap

Steco mounts bodywork on a suitable chassis at its workshop in Drammen and ensures the vehicles are ready for Nordic road traffic. We carry out service and repairs on the bodywork throughout its entire lifespan and perform chassis swaps when the body is to be transferred to a new undercarriage.