A Melbourne council is converting its garbage trucks to hydrogen fuel.

The Moreland City Council says 12 of the its 18 trucks will be zero-emissions by early 2020.

The council hopes other local governments will follow its lead in adapting trucks to the futuristic fuel source.

“This is about changing the fuel source of heavy vehicles for councils,” said Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio.

“There would be councils right across the country that will be looking very closely, very eagerly, for the rollout of this project.”

The $9 million project will see Australia’s first commercial-scale hydrogen refuelling station be built within the council bounds, set to run on grid-supplied wind power and locally-produced solar.

Moreland Council expects the new rigs to require a similar level of staff and maintenance to the current diesel-powered fleet.

“The cost will be equivalent to the cost of running the trucks that we currently run,” Moreland Mayor Helen Davidson said.

The Victorian Government predicts new jobs will be created by the prototyping and fuel cell component manufacturing processes too.

Additionally, manufacturers say the trucks will be about 70 per cent less noisy than the current models.