Anchorage wants to buy three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million

Anchorage's trash utility is asking the Assembly to approve buying three new garbage trucks for about $1.47 million, replacing older vehicles in its residential and commercial collection fleet.

The order is for one commercial frontloader, at about $466,000, and two automated side-loaders, at about $500,000 each. All three would come from Peterbilt of Alaska, and the price covers the trucks, extended warranties and the work to get them road-ready. The money comes from the utility's approved 2026 capital budget.

By buying through a cooperative purchasing agreement rather than soliciting its own bids, the city gets the trucks for about $282,000 less than list price, a discount of roughly 16%.

There is a practical reason the utility keeps buying Peterbilts. Its fleet of 31 trucks is already all one brand, which the utility says lets it hold a smaller parts inventory and standardize its maintenance.