The Sanitation Department currently has a fleet of 2,100 rear loader diesel trucks that collect garbage and are outfitted with plows to clear streets during snow season, the equivalent of plowing 19,000 miles. Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the NYC city council earlier this month: "We found that they [electric garbage trucks] could not plow the snow effectively – they basically conked out after four hours. We need them to go 12 hours. Given the current state of the technology, I don't see today a path forward to fully electrifying the rear loader portion of the fleet by 2040." Seven electric rear loader garbage trucks, custom-made by Mack and costing more than $523,000 each, were ordered in 2020, and delivery is slated for the spring.

Don't count on seeing electric garbage trucks plowing snow from city streets any time soon.