For Outstanding Public Agency Fleet Achievement, Sacramento Clean Cities chose Sacramento County Waste Management & Recycling for its Clean Air Champion Award. This award recognizes the outstanding achievement or sustained excellence in the alternative fuel and advanced technology in the vehicle field.
Phil Serna, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors said, “Together the departments of Waste Management & Recycling and General Services have made a number of critical steps to earn this recognition and are continually striving to make the fleet progressively more cost efficient and reduce its impact on the environment.”
Accomplishments
In July, a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station was completed that combines time fill/fast fill – a first for the Sacramento Region. The new CNG station allows multiple vehicles to fill up at the same time without waiting as vehicles fill overnight. Not only is CNG cheaper and significantly better for the environment over diesel, the CNG time fill/fast fill saves $200,000 per year in staff time and fuel costs.
Later this year, the County plans to migrate to a blend of Renewable Compressed Natural Gas to fuel their refuse fleet, those vehicles will achieve a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions vs. diesel petroleum fuel. Currently, the cost of renewable compressed natural gas is less than half the cost of petroleum diesel.
Brad Hudson, County Executive said, “Our Fleet Management and Waste Management & Recycling teams are making remarkable strides towards our sustainability goals.”
Waste Management and Recycling’s climate action and sustainability efforts are evident at the County’s Kiefer Landfill, where sheep and goats employed to reduce vegetation, which has cut the use of highly polluting gas trimmers by more than 2,000 hours. Additionally, the Landfill converts raw methane and carbon dioxide emitted by decomposing waste into electricity at its onsite power plant. This methane to electricity conversion works to remove harmful greenhouse gases and is the equivalent of taking 117,000 cars off the road annually.
Taking notice of Sacramento County’s efforts to green its fleet, the California Energy Commission recently chose the County to be the test market in 2016 for new TransPower battery-electric heavy duty refuse trucks, at no cost to the County.
Sacramento Clean Cities is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program, a government-industry partnership designed to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. There are currently almost 100 coalitions nationwide that work with government agencies and private companies to identify mutual interests and meet the objectives of reducing the use of imported oil, developing regional economic opportunities, and improving air quality. Sacramento Clean Cities encompasses fleets in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, Solano, Yuba and Sutter Counties.