WM switches to CNG trucks in Minnesota

The waste and recycling collection fleet operated by Houston-based WM in the Rochester, Minnesota, area now consists solely of trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

“Yesterday, we welcomed community leaders, legislators, employees and more to WM’s hauling site in Rochester, Minnesota to celebrate the transition of our Rochester fleet from diesel to natural gas,” WM Area Communications Manager Taryn Nance commented in a LinkedIn post last week. “The new fleet shop, natural gas fueling station and fleet of trucks bring the project’s total investment to over $20 million and means WM is reducing emissions in the communities we serve.”

Coverage of the event by KIMT indicates the WM region is in the process of phasing in 36 CNG vehicles. The new trucks are designed to emit up to 90 percent less nitrogen oxide (NOx) than some of the diesel vehicles they will replace.

The TV station also quotes WM Vice President Frank Fello as saying part of the investment went into an accompanying vehicle workshop offering "a better environment for our technicians to work and allows us to maintain things better as well.”

The KIMT report also says 47 percent of WM's natural gas fueling infrastructure nationwide consist of renewable natural gas, which often is made from converted landfill gas, and WM aims to have that number at 100 percent by 2026.