A little electric boost to the horsepower is an eco solution for rubbish collection
Horse and electric buggy in Avenches: new Swiss eco solution to trash collection
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss towns are being encouraged to bring back the horse, an eco solution to garbage collection and potentially dozens of other municipal tasks, including transporting school children, with the horse centre in Avanches leading the way.
Avanches is home to the national military stables and Monday 13 August its old town hosted the first specially developed horse and electric-powered buggy to pick up the town’s trash.
The demonstration will be followed by the horse and new-fangled buggy going to work 23 August. Horses and quiet electric assistance should contribute significantly to reducing the acceleration, deceleration and braking noises as well as the pollution caused by motor vehicles that do the same jobs.
The “hippomobile car” is designed to monitor the horse’s efforts and provide assistance only as needed, for the most economical hauling use that keeps the horse’s health as a priority. The horses are Franches-Montagnes breed animals.
The project is a combined effort by the stables in Avanches and Agroscope, a federal agricultural research station, working with a Fribourg company that specializes in industrial use of hauling by horses, Meterus. Agroscope’s role is two-fold: to ensure the animal’s well-being by bringing its scientific knowledge to the project, and to function as a consulting service for Swiss towns interested in using horses.
