New City Garbage Trucks Sport Technology To Keep Drivers, Residents Accountable

Many El Pasoans don’t put much thought in to their daily garbage pick up until something goes wrong.

One common complaint to the City’s Environmental Services Dept. comes from residents who said the trucks missed their containers.

But thanks to 20 new Scorpion collection trucks, residents who have complaints about their sanitation service will now find an expert witness: technology.

The new Scorpion trucks have a GPS and camera system that holds drivers accountable for missed houses, and residents accountable if they falsely claimed they were skipped for pick-up.

“This unit here has four cameras that record throughout the day so we can go back and view video tape if the customer calls and says the driver missed them and look at that video tape and if the driver missed them, we send back the driver,” said solid waste operations manager Richard Adams.

The old trucks also had cameras on board, but the video wasn’t recorded so any incidents or missed pickups weren’t tracked or caught on tape.

Increased accountability for homeowners as well as the drivers isn’t the only perk.

Officials said the new Scorpion truck arm decreases damage to containers and speeds up the pick-up process.

“I don’t have to sit in front of his house for longer than I need to. I can pick up his garbage a lot more efficiently, and get the job done without destroying his container,” said solid waste driver David Wilkens.

There are 15 trucks that are already on the roads, and five more coming in two weeks.

That means a third of active garbage trucks in El Paso will have the newest in trash technology.