Trash trucks fueled by 'trash gas': a growing trend

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/07/waste-management-trash-trucks.html

Trash trucks fueled by 'trash gas': a growing trend

July 7, 2011 | 2:12 pm

The company that operates the largest trucking fleet in the waste industry is fueling more and more trucks with so-called trash gas. On Tuesday, Houston-based Waste Management Inc. will add its 1,000th truck fueled with natural gas. Powered with captured and converted methane gas from the company's Altamont, Calif., landfill, the new truck will service Long Beach, picking up recyclables.

North America's largest waste services company, Waste Management operates almost 300 landfills and runs 22,000 big trucks daily, 720 of which are in Southern California. All of the trucks Waste Management runs out of its L.A. Metro fueling station are powered with liquefied natural gas (LNG) derived from the methane generated through decomposition of organic waste in its Altamont landfill. Since November 2009, the landfill has been generating as much as 13,000 gallons of LNG per day.

Later this summer, Waste Management anticipates approval of a similar liquefaction production facility at its Simi Valley landfill. If selected for funding from the California Energy Commission, the Simi Valley landfill could generate at least as much LNG as its Altamont facility -- enough to power an additional 300 trash-gas trucks daily.

"It's a big deal to hit this milestone because we've been at this for years," said Waste Management's vice president of public affairs, Kent Stoddard. "I think we're probably the first company that tried to run a garbage truck on compressed natural gas, and we went through 10 years of ups and downs, of encouraging successes and setbacks, but we crashed through all of that."

…

[madokie]

1. All trash companies should be looking at doing the same

rec

[robinlynne]

2. Why should it be funded? We pay a fortune for their services. I'm all for it, but

it is not a non-profit, not even anything close to non-profit and should not be publicly funded.

I was loving it till I saw the word funded. Corporations in this country get funding.

[kestrel91316]

3. Funding is the bribe we pay to get them to do it. Otherwise they would refuse,

claiming they simply couldn't do it for some BS reason.

:shrug: