As the capital city of Canada, you might expect Ottawa to be at the cutting edge of environmental innovation – and now even its waste management services have got in on the act.
Waste Management will introduce 25 compressed natural gas trucks in the city this year to collect waste and recycling. It is also planning to convert its current fleet to compressed natural gas as part of a North American fleet conversion strategy.
It is hoped that the natural gas powered trucks will help offer a smaller carbon footprint with near zero air particulate emissions and around 25 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Each truck is said to cut down around 8,000 gallons of diesel use per year – and contribute to a reduction of 22metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
As part of its efforts, Waste Management will also build a compressed natural gas fuelling station in Stittsville – the company currently has 17 natural gas fuelling stations in North America and wants to have 50 in operation by the end of 2012.
According to Sherry Stevenson, the municipal affairs manager for Waste Management, the compressed natural gas trucks are a vital part of the company’s efforts to reduce emissions by 15 per cent and increase fuel efficiency by the same percentage by 2020.
