Refuse

From the largest refuse company in the United States to some of smallest independent operators, refuse companies are increasingly investing in natural gas vehicles, driven mainly by the tremendous savings in fuel costs.

Waste collection and transfer vehicles, which account for about 11 percent of total vehicular natural gas use, are the fastest growing NGV segment. They are used in metropolitan markets and dozens of small communities.

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, a leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America, operates the largest fleet of CNG recycling and waste collection trucks in North America. The company has about 900 vehicles running on either compressed natural gas (CNG) or, where available, liquefied natural gas (LNG). The fleet is designed to help the company achieve its sustainability goals of reducing total fleet emissions by 15% by 2020.

Republic Services, with more than 348, more than doubled its fleet of natural gas vehicles in 2010 to a total of 240 and began adding more in 2011.

While many refuse companies start with private, timed-fill stations, to fuel their fleets overnight, companies are also working with fuel providers to have their vehicles fueled at public stations, thereby spurring others in the community to make the switch. For example, in 2011 Waste Management of New Jersey teamed up with a fuel supplier to open a public access station in Camden, N.J., just outside of Philadelphia, where the company will be just one of the customers.

Here’s why:

Fuel cost savings: The differential between the cost of natural gas and the cost of diesel fuel translates quickly into substantial fuel savings for refuse trucks with tough-duty cycles, low miles per gallon and high engine hours. With diesel prices remaining high, natural gas can be as much as 30-50% cheaper per diesel gallon equivalent. Click here to see the government’s latest comparisons.
Faster payback: While the initial investment in natural gas vehicles is higher, the substantial savings on fuel make it economic to make the switch.
Performance: Improvements in engine technology that power these vehicles make them ready to tackle the toughest hills and tightest spaces. These engines also meet the very stringent EPA 2010 emission standards
Communities – and driver – support: no diesel smoke, no diesel smell, low noise level, and less offensive exhaust.
Multiple suppliers: Every major refuse chassis manufacturer and nearly every upfitter offers natural gas collection trucks. The vehicles also come in a variety of configurations, including with fuel cylinders mounted on the roof of the vehicle.
CNG and LNG: While most natural gas vehicles in the United States run on compressed natural gas, or CNG, refuse trucks and other heavy duty vehicles also are being designed to run on liquefied natural gas or LNG. The biggest advantage of LNG is that it requires only 30 percent of the space of CNG to store the same amount of energy. The trend toward LNG started in California, but LNG infrastructure is growing, particularly on the East Coast.

Choice Environmental Services

As Choice Environmental Services, Inc., has proven, refuse players big and small are switching to natural gas.

The Fort Lauderdale-based refuse hauler company is an innovative example of how a waste company can implement a natural gas vehicle program, even where there is no mandate to do so.

In 2010, Choice became the first independent refuse fleet in Florida to roll out compressed natural gas trucks, setting an example for many other smaller operators. The fleet, which provides commercial and industrial solid waste and recycling services, was founded in 2004 and became a part of Swisher Hygiene, Inc., in 2011. The company now serves customers in south and central Florida.

Similar to many other refuse company owners, Choice CEO Glen Miller starting thinking CNG after the 2008 fuel price spikes, and in 2009 he approached the City of Fort Lauderdale about offering an innovative environmental way to provide residential waste and recycling services utilizing cleaner, quieter compressed natural gas powered collection vehicles. The use of CNG of vehicles was on the deciding factors in Choice being awarded a contract in May 2009.

Click here to see a video of the project

“We thought that natural gas was a cleaner burning fuel, less expensive, domestically available and the most eco-friendly,” he told Waste Age, an industry trade publication. At industry events, Miller has cited three other important reasons to support natural gas.

It is 90% quieter than diesel at idle
Performance and maintenance of the trucks has been great
Driver acceptance has been overwhelming positive

Choice started with nine vehicles in 2009, and now about 10 percent of its fleet of 150 vehicles is running on natural gas. The company started with a single timed-filled location in Pompano Beach that fuels the vehicles overnight. In 2011, the company received a grant from the state under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build a second station – this one open to the public – at its Opa-Locka site.

While the company focuses on its core business, it leaves the station operation and maintenance to an outside contractor, Clean Energy Fuels, Inc.