Abstract: A vacuum refuse collecting vehicle has a tank divided into two hermetically sealed compartments by an internal sloped wall. The forward compartment functions as a water tank and the rear compartment as a waste containment tank. The capacity of the compartments can be increased by the addition of spacers to the cylindrical tank to make the tank longer, by changing the angle of the internal sloped wall, or by changing the depth of the concave end walls of the tank. The rear compartment is equipped with an upwardly tilting hinged concave tail gate for emptying the waste therefrom. The airstream which deposits the waste material in the tank is directed out of the tank into one or more bag filter housings, through an air pump, a silencer, and then to the surrounding atmosphere. The bag filters are so mounted and constructed that they may be removed through the bottom of the housings, thereby maintaining the upper portions of the housings substantially free of waste material.