Waste Management has opened their 100th natural gas fueling station and is also celebrating 6,000 CNG trucks in operation, making theirs the largest heavy-duty fleet of its kind in North America. These milestones represent not only great news for their company, but also for clean fuels development.
In the early 1990s, Waste Management established a company goal to reduce their emissions and increase efficiency of their on-road fleet by 15 percent by 2020 (based on 2007 levels). That goal was achieved in 2011, and thanks to the adoption of natural gas vehicles, they continue to exceed that goal this year.
Waste Management’s compressed natural gas (CNG) emit nearly zero particulate emissions, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and are quieter than diesel trucks (a big plus for not wanting to disturb neighbors during those early morning garbage pick-ups.)
For every diesel truck replaced with natural gas, Waste Management has reduced their use of diesel fuel by an average of 8,000 gallons per year, along with a reduction of 14 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. That’s the equivalent of a 15 percent emissions reduction per truck. 25 of Waste Management’s CNG refueling stations are also open to the public.
Waste Management was an early supporter of Oregon’s Clean Fuels Standard, joining more than a dozen businesses in 2014 in signing a letter in support of the program. Back then, Kim Kaminski, their senior government affairs manager for the Pacific NW/British Columbia, said that money received through being a Clean Fuels Standard credit generator could spur the expansion its CNG infrastructure. With this latest news, it seems Kaminski was right on the money! A big thanks to Waste Management for setting such a positive example of how converting to cleaner fuel is good for the environment, and business too.