CLEAN TRASH
Waste Management dedicates new CNG fueling station in Oklahoma City
Trash collection has become a cleaner process in Oklahoma City, corporate and city leaders said Tuesday.
Houston-based Waste Management on Tuesday celebrated its Oklahoma City fueling and maintenance center as the company’s 100th compressed natural gas fueling station in North America. The company has about 6,000 natural gas-fueled trash trucks throughout its system and soon will have more than 100 CNG trucks in Oklahoma City.
“We think sustainability is a big deal to our customers and is the right thing to do for air emissions and the environment. It’s also good for our shareholders,” said James Trevathan, Waste Management’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Cities and communities also have sustainability goals. We’re helping meet their goals and ours.”
Besides environmental benefits, Trevathan said the conversion effort also has saved money for the company and its customers.
“The fuel costs less than diesel,” he said. “Even now with a low diesel cost, it’s still a savings. CNG also saves money on maintenance costs.”
Waste Management about two years ago began
converting its Oklahoma City fleet to run on compressed natural gas. The fleet now has 87 CNG trucks and is scheduled to receive another 19 by the end of the year.
At that point, all of the company’s Oklahoma City front-loading vehicles will run on CNG.
“Consumers benefit because the CNG engines are quieter and have fewer emissions,” said Chip Wertz, Waste Management’s director of fleet facility infrastructure.
CNG trash trucks produce 15 percent lessgreenhouse gas emissions and about 90 percent fewer particulate emissions than the older diesel engines they are replacing, he said.
Praise for CNG efforts
Oklahoma City Councilman David Greenwell said the partnership with Waste Management has been beneficial to the city and its citizens. He praised the company’s CNG efforts Tuesday.
“It’s very important because it continues to help with the city’s emphasis on sustainability and becoming a cleaner city,” he said.
Waste Management invested about $9.2 million on its new service center and fueling yard at 3824 W Reno Ave., including about $3 million for the fueling infrastructure. The facility can slow fill up to 134 trucks overnight. The facility also includes a fast-fill pump, a five-bay maintenance shop and a truck wash.
In addition to the investment in the maintenance and fueling facility, Waste Management has spent about $19.8 million on its Oklahoma City CNG fleet, Wertz said.
The company’s effort displaced about 47 million gallons of diesel last year, Waste Management fleet director Marty Tufte said.
The company is converting its larger fleets first, but has developed a CNG system that is economical with fleets as small as 16 trucks, Tufte said.
“We believe this is the best blend of economics and emissions available today,” he said.