Parramatta City Council
State-of-the-art electric powered, self-propelled vacuum unit delivers the ideal solution for micro litter collection for Parramatta City Council
B uilding on its phenomenal interna-tional success, the first state-of-the-art GLUTTON electric waste vacuum units are now operating in Australia, providing a Clean and Green litter collection solution for Parramatta City Council in Sydney’s west. Commissioned by Parramatta City Council during August, the first two GLUTTON units have not only had a major positive impact on street cleansing at two key areas within the City, they’re also generating significant interest and winning wide-spread praise for their design and performance – from operators, local residents, local business owners, and even a number of other councils in the region.
Speaking about the new GLUTTON units,Terry Johnson, Service Manager – Cleansing,with Parramatta City Council said that everybody was extremely impressed with the units, particularly in terms of their ability to collect micro litter such as discarded cigarette butts. “As is the case with most places where people congregate, such as shopping strips and transport interchanges, there are several key areas throughout the City where micro litter – especially discarded cigarette butts– are a real issue.” “Unfortunately, due to the nature of micro litter and the areas in which it tends to be discarded, collection and removal using traditional methods such as sweeping or manual picking, tends to be cumber-some, time-consuming and, in many instances, largely ineffective,” he said. “With that in mind, we were looking for a street cleansing solution that would be able
Eco-Friendly Electric Opreration
Thanks to its design, the battery-powered GLUTTON is capable of providing an average of 12 hours of independent operation in normal usage between charges.The unit’s “intelligent” integrated battery charger can recharge the batteries anywhere that there is a 240v electric socket available. What’s more, the fact that it is 100% battery powered means that it has zero CO2 emissions. In keeping with Council’s focus on minimising the environmental impact of all of its operations – particularly in relation to reducing CO2 (e) emissions, we also place a significant emphasis on the environmental impact and carbon footprint of all of the equipment that we’re using,” Terry Johnson said. “Needless to say, the GLUTTON’s fully-electric, zero emission operation, fits perfectly with our sustainability goals.” “Most importantly, having an eco-friendly unit has not meant that we’ve had to sacrifice performance, quality or productivity,” he added. “The electric drive motor and vacuum motor both deliver plenty of power. In fact, the drive motor is strong enough for the operators to get up and down the steep pedestrian overpass the runs between the rail station and bus interchange, while still vacuuming waste.”
to effectively collect discarded cigarette butts and other micro litter, while also being able to cope other larger litter items.” “Following a visit to the CivEnEx exhibition in Sydney in May, a couple of our Team Leaders had mentioned that they’d seen a new piece of equipment called the GLUTTON on display that they believed may hold the answer to this challenge. I contacted James Daniels at Street Cleansing Solutions and he organised to bring one of the units to us for a demo in ‘real world’ conditions in the Parramatta CBD,” he said. “We were all extremely impressed with the unit’s performance – not only in terms of its ability to collect litter including cigarette butts, but also its quiet operation and ‘eco-credentials’. And with that in mind, we ordered two units; one for use in the Granville Town Centre, which also incorporates a major bus and rail interchange, and the other for the North Parramatta Business District.”
“Needless to say, our decision to purchase the units has been more than vindicated by their performance in the field. The GLUTTON electric vacuum units have not only provided us with the litter collection and cleansing solution we were after, they’re performing well beyond our expectations,” Terry Johnson said. The GLUTTON waste vacuum cleaner is a mobile, easy-to-use, self-propelled machine, which is able to collect all kinds of
waste that can pass through a tube 125mm in diameter. The machine is capable of removing generated litter and debris from hard and soft surfaces. Its unique design allows removal of micro litter in difficult to reach areas, including in corners and around street furniture. The GLUTTON also offers the added ben- efits of near silent operation and return air particulate emissions of less than 1 micron, making it suitable for use at any time, day or night, including in busy areas with lots of pedestrians or outdoor dining and seating. Together with its outstanding ‘Clean and Green’ near silent electric operation and high-performance return air filtration system, one of the key factors in the popularity of the GLUT TON units with councils and contractors alike, is its versatile perfor- mance in the field. The unit deals quickly and efficiently with all types of litter - from larger items such as paper, cardboard, cigarette packets, beverage containers (including cans, glass and plastic bottles) and food packaging, through to micro litter such as cigarette butts and broken glass. The GLUTTON can also be used to collect other waste material, including: leaves, dog faeces, and waste trapped in tree grills and/or surface drainage grates. Not surprisingly, GLUTTON has established itself as an essential tool for cleaning pavements, streets, alleyways, parks, tree
grills, markets, factories, workshops, car parks, halls, rooms, function centers, platforms, train stations, airports etc. Anywhere in fact where sweeping by hand is not practical or inefficient. Indeed, since the machines were first introduced in 2007, these innovative waste vacuum cleaners have gained in popularity with contractors and government authorities across the globe at a staggering rate - with over 7,000 units now in operation in more than 2,500 cities in 52 Countries. Another major factor in the GLUTTON’s outstanding success is the simplicity of its design which, when combined with its ease-of-use, has made it extremely popular with operators, maintenance staff and fleet managers alike. With its compact dimensions (750mm wide) and easy-to-operate electric drive (forward and reverse) the GLUTTON is also highly manoeuvrable. It’s easy to handle, self-propelled, well dimensioned and ergonomic, and is extremely simple to operate. It is equally effective outdoors (pavements, public roads, car parks etc.) and
indoors (workshops, halls, warehouses, etc). In addition, the combination of robust yet simple design, and fully electric operation means that it requires virtually no mainte- nance or replacement of spare parts. The GLUTTON features an ultra-light car- bon fibre suction pipe with an adjustable and ergonomic armrest, together with a support wheel on the underside of the pipe. Collected litter and waste is deposited directly into the GLUTTON’s on-board 240 litre MGB (wheelie bin) for easy disposal. The GLUTTON’s high performance filter is located in a housing on top of the unit, providing quick and easy access for cleaning and/or replacement. Interestingly, the GLUTTON units are also proving to be popular with local business owners and residents alike. In fact, when the GLUTTON was first used in the Granville Town Centre, the operators had a lot of positive feedback from passers-by about the unique appearance of the machine, the quality of the cleaning / litter collection and the fact that it was extremely quiet and unobtrusive.
Following on from these initial comments, Parramatta City Council conducted a formal survey of the area’s shopkeepers in an effort to gauge their opinions about the GLUTTON’s performance over the first three months of operation. When the 34 businesses were asked if they had seen, or were aware of the GLUTTON (which was done by showing them a photo), 31 said that they had. Most importantly, when they were asked if they thought that the three months in which the GLUTTON had been in use had delivered an improvement in the cleanliness of the street, 29 respondents said that they had seen a definite improvement, particularly in relation to a reduction in the amount of cigarette butts and other litter on the ground. “ The survey of the businesses in the Granville Town Centre, together with numerous discussions that the operators have had with pedestrians and passers-by while they’re working, have also shown that people are very happy to see Council’s proactive approach to street cleansing and litter collection,” Terry Johnson said. “Put simply, the fact that the GLUTTON is a modern and sleek unit that looks good, works well, and doesn’t inconvenience people in the area, has become a very positive image for Council; and one that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving the cleanliness and livibility of our City,” he added.
Cigarette Butt Litter Issues
According to the Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index (NLI) cigarette butts represent around 48% of litter in Australia. Indeed, from the 983 sites surveyed in the urban and non-urban areas, each 1,000m3 area inspected, produced an average of 29 cigarette butts. NSW sites produced an average of 33 littered cigarette butt per 1,000m2 area. Together with the fact that cigarette butts seriously degrade the appearance of an area, the fact that they take an average of five years to break down, means that they can become a long-term problem for gardens, drains and waterways.
