Waste Management of Southern California has opened a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Chino.
The public fueling station will refuel the company's local fleet and sell CNG to commercial fleets and retail consumers with CNG-equipped vehicles. The company now operates 24 CNG trucks in Chino and plans to replace the few remaining diesel trucks later this year, making its entire fleet serving in the city 100% CNG-powered.
“Since natural-gas-powered collection trucks run cleaner and quieter, we've made the commitment to use more in our local operations, while also benefiting our community with the opening of a public CNG station,” says Larry Metter, area vice president for Waste Management of Southern California. “We are dedicated to providing our customers with outstanding service while doing business in the most sustainable manner possible.”
“We are pleased with the strong commitment Waste Management has demonstrated toward cleaner air,” comments Dennis Yates, mayor of the city of Chino and vice chairman of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's governing board. “By increasing accessibility to cleaner-burning compressed natural gas fuel to fleets in Chino and beyond, we are taking positive steps to protect Southern California's air quality as we work toward achieving greater sustainability.”
The Chino fueling station and local CNG vehicles are one element of Waste Management's larger sustainability efforts. In 2007, Waste Management set a company-wide goal of reducing fleet emissions by 15% by the year 2020. The company says its North American operations achieved this goal in 2011 and currently operates over 4,000 natural gas trucks, including more than 1,100 in Southern California.
