Benefits of Natural Gas Garbage Trucks

How natural gas garbage trucks can make a difference in your community

One of the hottest topics in the trucking industry today is the emerging trend of natural gas truck usage, and garbage trucks are no exception. Think about how much fuel is used to power every garbage truck in every city, almost every day. According a report by INFORM, Inc.* each day roughly 179,000 garbage trucks serve over 75 million homes, 7 million businesses, and 100,000 government organizations in the United States. Knowing that utilizing natural gas engines reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) up to 20%, think about the impact that an increase in natural gas garbage trucks can have on the environment alone.

INFORM, Inc. outlined each of the major benefits of natural gas garbage trucks. Those benefits include the reduction of air pollution, noise, and water pollution.

• Air pollution: When natural gas garbage trucks are used instead of diesel trucks, INFORM, Inc. found a drastic reduction in air pollutants. For example, Particulate matter was reduced by 67%-94%, Nitrogen oxides were reduced by 32%-73%, and non-methane hydrocarbons were reduced by 69%-83%.
• Noise: Natural gas garbage trucks are also much quieter than diesel trucks. Specifically, 50%-98% decibels quieter depending on where you are standing in or around the truck.
• Water pollution: Research shows a 100% reduction in organics when comparing natural gas garbage trucks to diesel garbage trucks.

Not only do natural gas garbage trucks have a positive impact on the environment, they have a positive impact on your wallet, as well. Tampa, Florida is a perfect example of one city that is taking advantage of all the economic benefits that natural gas garbage trucks have to offer. According to an article** in the Tampa Tribune, the city of Tampa spent $1.6 million on fuel last year alone. In an effort to save taxpayer’s money, the city invested in 5 natural gas garbage trucks last year, with a goal of removing 12 percent of the city’s garbage trucks from diesel by early 2015. With natural gas now costing about $1.50-$2.00 less per diesel gallon equivalent than diesel, natural gas garbage trucks make more sense than diesel trucks for cities like Tampa that are striving to improve efficiencies.

Some refuse companies, like Waste Management, offer businesses additional options to increase efficiency. These companies convert landfill gas into usable CNG fuel, which is even more economical than publicly available CNG fuel. Low-cost fuel options coupled with natural gas trucks can enable garbage truck fleets to operate at their peak efficiency.

What to learn more about how natural gas garbage trucks can improve your fleet? Contact us.

*“Facts on Greening Garbage Trucks: New Technologies for Cleaner Air,” INFORM, Inc.
**“Tampa turns to natural gas to fuel city’s fleet,” The Tampa Tribune. April 6, 2014.