Dive Brief:

• The Grand Central Sanitary landfill in Plainfield Township, Pennsylvania, has been granted approval to build a compressed natural gas (CNG) station to service its fleet. A separate station will be constructed for public use.
• The landfill is owned by Waste Management, Inc. and is part of a national effort that the waste and recycling company is making to shift its fleets from diesel to CNG. 50 trucks will be converted by next year.
• The pumping station will be capable of operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the use of cameras which will monitor the station. It will take between four to eight hours to refuel the fleet, while consumer vehicles could be filled in six to eight minutes.

Dive Insight:

CNG costs half of the price of diesel fuel, resulting in significant savings. The reduction in fuel costs could give the landfill a competitive edge against its competitors and in the bidding process itself. Waste Management has 50 stations located across the United States, including Nashville, which are equipped to handle 2,500 of the company's CNG vehicles.