Berlin Recycling GmbH operates one of the largest waste disposal networks in the capital city. According to the company, which has existed for exactly 25 years, the fleet comprises around 180 trucks and 35 additional fleet vehicles. Each year about three million driven kilometers are logged, also to empty the more than 200,000 containers installed. The vehicles move daily 250,000 tons of waste and recyclables. Thus the company, which employs about 500 staff, belongs to the central players in the Berlin waste disposal and recycling market. For the tires of the truck fleet, Berlin Recycling relies on premium tires of the Bridgestone Duravis R002 series.
In designing the new tire models, the focus was primarily on robustness and flexibility - because, alongside stop-and-go stresses, curbs, narrow streets and debris on the road pose special challenges for tires. Manuel Butze, head of Fleet Management at Berlin Recycling, confirms:
"The tires must meet the requirements of modern mobility and cope with the numerous acceleration and braking maneuvers in urban operation."
Therefore, one deliberately chose the Duravis premium tire from the Japanese tire group. For the Berlin Recycling fleet, different dimensions are required, including 385/55, 315/70, 385/65 and 295/80. The tires were selected according to vehicle type: for
example, low-entry refuse-collection vehicles require different concepts than skip loaders or container service trucks. According to Butze, every newly ordered truck automatically receives Bridgestone tires fitted.
Designation
The Duravis R002 series for the light and medium truck segment consists of the R-Steer 002, the R-Drive 002 and the R-Trailer 002, which have been specifically adapted to the requirements of regional and urban traffic. A new tread design, for example, is intended to provide higher grip in wet conditions through effective water drainage.
With the special Nanopro-Tech tread compound, energy loss inside the tire should be reduced and rolling resistance lowered, which, according to Bridgestone, translates into noticeably lower fuel consumption. The high-silica compound also contributes to this, which not only increases wet grip but also lowers operating temperature – for a longer service life in daily use. Another detail in the design is an additional special blending process: this, according to the information, ensures particularly even wear, which in turn improves efficiency and tire use over the entire life cycle. Christoph Frost, Director Commercial Products Bridgestone Central Europe, sums up:
"Especially where efficiency and safety must come together in a confined space, the R002 series fully demonstrates its strengths."
Sustainability through retreading
According to a
Bridgestone press release, retreadability was among the central concerns when choosing tires. For a company that emphasizes environmental orientation, longevity plays a major role. The robust casings of the premium tires are particularly suitable for the demands of urban use. Through retreading with Bandag technology, on average up to 57 liters of crude oil and 14 kilograms of steel can be saved per tire. Berlin Recycling sees this as a contribution to resource conservation and cost reduction.
"Durability and reliability are an important factor for us. The retreadability must also be guaranteed, which includes a robust casing that is heavily stressed in urban operation,"
says Manuel Butze. Retreaded tires in particular are cost-effective, environmentally friendly and resource-saving at the same time. "These properties make retreaded tires an economically and ecologically sensible choice - fitting to us as a recycling company."
Combination with fleet management
Bridgestone can however not only convince with product quality, but also has an esteemed service. With the PayGo model for instance, which Berlin Recycling has been using since September 2023, the company has high transparency for its tire and fleet management. The service is part of the integrated fleet and tire management solution Bridgestone Fleet Care - a combination of the
tire products with the telematics solution of the fleet management expert Webfleet. The solution promises individual concepts tailored to the needs of the fleet. "Through the use of modern systems, vehicle operation and maintenance can be precisely monitored and optimized - with the goal of reducing overall costs and saving valuable time in daily operation," it says. Such data-based systems also enable more precise business calculations. Butze:
"We are just starting to make total costs visible down to the smallest detail and can thus plan better and more sustainably for the future and thus reduce costs. With Bridgestone Fleet Care we gain deep insights and analyses that enable us to make better decisions and keep the fleet as well as costs under control."
Use of alternative propulsion
To implement its sustainability strategy, Berlin Recycling uses not only careful tire selection and supportive fleet management but also vehicles with alternative propulsion. Thus the fleet includes fully electric garbage collection vehicles and more than 20 trucks powered by HVO 100 biodiesel. In addition, intelligent route planning is used to combine efficiency and climate protection in urban logistics. With Bridgestone as an active partner, this is intended to demonstrate how economics, technology and climate protection can be combined
