The Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority in Pennsylvania has received a $240,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to help fund the purchase of six more waste-transfer truck tractors that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), not diesel fuel.
The grant came from DEP’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program, which encourages the public and private sectors to buy vehicles that run on cleaner-burning fuels.
As reported by Lancaster Online, these waste-transfer tractors pull trailers capable of holding 42,00 pounds of trash.
CNG waste-transfer truck tractors cost roughly $195,000 each—or about $45,000 more than diesel tractors. The grant covers $40,000 of that increment per tractor, said authority spokeswoman Katie Sandoe.
Besides having lower emissions, the six new CNG tractors will eliminate the purchase of 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year. Compared to the cost of CNG, that will save the authority roughly $50,000 annually, Sandoe told Lancaster Online.
The authority began converting its waste-transfer fleet to CNG-powered vehicles in 2014. Twenty of its 43 vehicles, which include tractor trailers, dump trucks and other kinds of vehicles, now run on CNG.
Of the half-dozen new arrivals, the authority anticipates replacing two existing CNG tractors and four diesel tractors, boosting its roster of CNG-powered vehicles to 24.