Waste Management Opens 100th CNG Fueling Station as Fleet Expands to 6,000 Trucks
Waste Management Inc. announced Oklahoma City as the location of its 100th compressed natural gas fueling station.
Also, in another milestone, it now operates 6,000 natural gas trucks, which is the largest heavy-duty fleet of its kind in North America, according to the company.
“Waste Management invests in building our own fueling infrastructure to refuel our vehicles, while making CNG available to other commercial fleets and individuals,” Marty Tufte, Waste Management corporate fleet director, commented in a statement. Twenty-five of its stations are open to the public and offer dedicated fast-fill pumps to serve commercial and consumer vehicles, the company said.
It began using natural gas in its fleet in the early 1990s and set a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of its on-road fleet efficiency by 15% by 2020, based on 2007 levels, according to company statement, adding that the goal was achieved in 2011.
Waste Management vehicles powered by compressed natural gas achieve nearly zero particulate emissions, cut greenhouse gas emissions and are quieter than diesel trucks, according to the Houston-based company.
Also, for every diesel truck replaced with natural gas, the company reduces its 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 — or the equivalent of a 15% emissions reduction per truck, the company said.
