Dive Summary:

• Waste Management announced today that its new compressed natural gas fueling station will be open to the public.  The station will service other commercial fleets and consumer vehicles
• The company also announced that it has launched a new local fleet of 25 CNG trucks.
• "Since natural gas-powered collection trucks run cleaner and quieter, we've made the commitment to use more in our local operations and support sustainability in this community by opening a public CNG station," said Tim Wells, area vice president for Waste Management.

From the press release:

Waste Management has launched a new local fleet of 25 clean-burning CNG trucks and unveiled Louisville's first public-access, 24-hour compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station.

The fleet is the first of its kind in Kentucky, replacing heavy-duty collection trucks with new state-of-the-art vehicles that run on CNG, a cleaner-burning alternative to conventional gasoline or diesel fuel. The new fueling station provides first-of-its-kind infrastructure in Louisville to serve commercial fleet managers and private individuals a ready supply of CNG fuel.

Mayor Greg Fischer, along with other civic, community and sustainability leaders, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstration of the new facility Wednesday at Waste Management's 7501 Grade Lane location.

Waste Management is adding up to 25 CNG-powered collection vehicles in Louisville and will roll out additional CNG-powered collection vehicles in the area in the future. The public fueling station will refuel Waste Management's local fleet as well as sell CNG to commercial fleets and retail consumers with CNG-equipped vehicles.

"Since natural gas-powered collection trucks run cleaner and quieter, we've made the commitment to use more in our local operations and support sustainability in this community by opening a public CNG station," said Tim Wells, area vice president for Waste Management in Kentucky as well as Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. "We are dedicated to providing our greater Louisville area customers with outstanding service while doing business here in the most sustainable manner possible."

CNG is one of the cleanest fuels currently available for use in heavy-duty trucks. Its use reduces particulate matter emissions to up to 86 percent, carbon monoxide emissions by 80 percent, nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 32 percent, and carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent. As an additional benefit, CNG offers cost savings compared to traditional fuels and runs quieter than diesel trucks.