Cleaner Air for Waste Collectors: On-Truck Air Cleaning in Daily Operations

Every time a refuse truck empties a bin, particles, microorganisms and strong odours are released right where the crew is standing and working. With Clean Option, an air cleaning system mounted on the back of the truck Ove Kock, Zoeller Group, Odense Renovation and the Danish Technological Institute will test whether the air around the loading zone can be cleaned and redirected, significantly improving working conditions.

Waste collectors on the frontline of poor air quality

Refuse workers are exposed daily to airborne particles, microorganisms and odours when waste is tipped and compacted and air is pushed out from the hopper. Today, there is limited documentation and only few practical solutions that specifically improve air quality exactly where the job is carried out, at the lifter on the back of the truck. This can negatively affect health, wellbeing and staff retention and means that working conditions in the waste sector lag behind other industries, even though the need for better protection is obvious.

Air cleaning mounted directly on the truck

The project builds on the Clean Option technology: a combined cyclone and filter system mounted on the rear of the refuse collection vehicle that actively cleans exhaust airflows and directs them away from workers and the surrounding area. In close collaboration between Ove Kock, Zoeller Group and Odense Renovation, the solution is adapted to Danish conditions with two-compartment trucks, multiple waste fractions and different collection routines. The Danish Technological Institute designs and runs a field study in Odense, where a prototype is tested under real operating conditions, while air quality is monitored in real time around the loading zone, with and without Clean Option, and complemented by structured interviews with the crews.

Towards a new standard for working environment in the waste sector

The goal is to document at least a 75% reduction in harmful particles, microorganisms and odours around the loading zone and to raise the technology from TRL 3 to 6–7. In the short term, the project should provide Ove Kock and Odense Renovation with a strong Danish reference and a documented improvement in working conditions that can be used in future tenders and investment decisions. In the longer term, the vision is for air cleaning on refuse trucks to become a new standard in Danish and European cities, backed by solid data, updated occupational health requirements and procurement criteria that make it attractive to protect waste workers much better than today.