Trash truck operators in the US continue to recognise the benefits of switching to natural gas to fuel their refuse collection vehicles. In Bridgeport CT, trash truck operator Enviro Express has announced that it will be purchasing 18 new LNG-powered tractors. “This is the first LNG fleet east of the Mississippi,” said Lee Grannis, coordinator for the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition. In addition to purchasing the LNG-powered tractors, Enviro Express has hired a Wyoming company to build an LCNG refueling station on the company’s property, which will also be open for public refuelling.
Enviro Express operates 10 trash transfer stations in Connecticut and provides garbage hauling services for numerous municipalities. The company’s purchase of the LNG-powered tractors is part of a four-year, $26.8 million program involving public and private sector money called the Connecticut Clean Cities Future Fuels Project.
Meanwhile, in Montgomery MD, more garbage trucks will start running on natural gas rather than diesel. The county has set a goal of 2012 to have all of its garbage and recycling trucks running on natural gas. The first are now in use, already demonstrating fuel efficiencies and reduced environmental impact through lowering operational noise and reducing smog causing pollution by 80 percent.
A refuse truck was also one of many natural gas powered fleet vehicles introduced to city officials at the 78th annual U.S. Conference of Mayors in Oklahoma this week. Sponsored by Chesapeake Energy Corporation and America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), the exhibit aims to highlight the benefits of using compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel.
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