The City of Madison has the first two electric trash collection vehicles in all of Wisconsin.
What better way to honor this big moment in sustainability than giving our new trucks profoundly silly names.
As with previous equipment namings, we will take suggestions from the public, select a group of finalist names, and then open it up to a vote to choose the names. And then ultimately reveal the chosen winners following the election results.
On this page you will find:
- How to submit names
- What kind of names we are looking for?
- Election process explanation
- Photos of the trucks
- Importance of the the electric trucks
You can submit your name suggestions to dropoff@cityofmadison.com.
There are two truck types, and you can submit a name - or names - for both types of vehicle. Pictures of the truck can be found further down on this page.
In your submissions if your names are meant for a specific truck, please note that in your email.
For example, if you want to call the blue side-loading collection truck "Zebulon Bluejeans" for some reason, then be sure you specify in your message that this peculiar name suggestion should only be considered for that truck.
If you do not care which truck is assigned the names you suggest, then just submit with your name idea alone.
You have until 4:00pm Tuesday, October 1, 2024 to submit your name suggestions.
What kind of Names are we looking for?
We are looking for something unique, playful, and fun that will represent the City of Madison's character, wit, and charm.
Please keep your suggestions family friendly. Puns are absolutely encouraged. Classrooms are encouraged to brainstorm to come up with ideas, as are all other groups, from book clubs to roller derby squads to volleyball teams.
Crude and rude names will not be selected as finalists, so please do not submit them. Let's keep it light and fun.
Remember, we are the city whose official bird is the plastic pink lawn flamingo. That's the energy we're trying to channel here.
After October 1, when the names have all been gathered, finalists for each truck will be selected by the City of Madison.
An election will be held in partnership with Wisconsin Clean Cities.
The exact date of the election is to be determined, depending on the amount of time it takes to whittle down the names received.
The election will be hosted on their website for the public to choose from the selected finalists.
Each truck will likely have five to seven finalists names you will be able to rank, depending on the number of submissions.
Like with the snowplowing trucks we named, this will be a ranked choice election.
Ranked Choice Voting
There are many helpful explainer videos that show how ranked choice works. Minnesota Public Radio and the Board of Elections New York City have videos explaining this style of voting.
We are choosing this version of an election because we anticipate quite a few creative suggestions, and this lets people have more than one option when they cast their ballot.
When the naming election begins, you will rank names by your order of your preference. The candidate you like most will be your 1st Choice, your next favorite will be your 2nd Choice and so on.
The vote counting begins by first tallying all of the 1st Choice votes.
If a name, or a "candidate" in this case, receives a majority of 1st Choice votes, the election is over and the one that as received a majority has won.
To be clear,a majority means they received more than half of all the votes cast. It does not mean earning just the most votes in this first round.
If no candidate receives a majority after counting the first choice votes, then the ranked choice portion begins.
The candidate with the lowest first choice vote totals will be eliminated. The process then looks at the second choice from the ballots that picked the eliminated candidate. The votes from the eliminated candidate are then distributed to the second choice those voters made.
This process repeats itself until one candidate has finally received a majority of the votes.
If at the final elimination, when it's down to just two candidates, and if no one has earned a majority of the support, the candidate with the most votes at this phase is declared the winner.
4479 - The Sideloader
Here is the electric side-loader, or automated collection vehicle.
This is the style of truck you most often see in your neighborhood emptying the carts at your home. They lift and dump collection carts.
4521 - The Rearloader
The rear-loader is a versatile collection truck. We can use them for large items, leaves, brush, and even collecting carts, too.
It's a real jack-of-all-trades style collection vehicle
WHy do the electric trucks matter
These two heavy-duty trucks are part of the broader Climate Forward Agenda of Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway as we work to find alternative fuels for our city operations.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 23% of the transportation’s sector’s greenhouse gas emissions come from heavy duty trucks like trash collection trucks.
On average, a collection vehicle used by the Streets Division uses approximately 17 gallons of diesel a day. Each gallon of diesel is equivalent to 22.45 pounds of C02 emitted. Over the course of a year, the carbon savings from one electric truck is equivalent to the energy use of six homes.
Electric vehicles will also save on maintenance as the motor requires less attention and lubricants than an internal combustion engine.
The collection truck is also significantly quieter than the standard diesel-powered truck. While emptying a cart will always cause a ruckus, the truck itself is whisper quiet compared to its noisier diesel brethren.