The city of Pittsburgh is set to purchase five new electric garbage trucks — and related electric charging infrastructure — using grant funds.
The city will receive $2.8 million from the Allegheny County Health Department for the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2021 Targeted Airshed Grant.
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure to accept the grant funding and use it for the electric garbage trucks.
This comes as the city has recently emphasized bolstering its electric fleet, which included 26 fully electric vehicles as of late December. Former Mayor Bill Peduto dedicated a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding to a further expansion of the city’s electric vehicle fleet, with plans to purchase 70 more electric vehicles in the next two years.
American Rescue Plan money was used to buy two electric recycling trucks for $1.1 million, a purchase recently approved as part of a larger measure to spend about $12 million to buy vehicles and related equipment for several city departments.
Last year, the city purchased its first electric bucket truck with grant money.
