Trash pickup to be cleaner with CNG

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) -- With a $19 million investment, garbage and recycling pickup in Rhode island will be getting a little cleaner, greener -- and quieter, a pair of local companies said Tuesday.

Waste Management and National Grid cut the ribbon on a new compressed natural gas fueling facility on Pontiac Avenue in Cranston, and launched 48 new natural gas-powered waste and recycling collections vehicles. The CNG fleet fueling facility is the first in Rhode Island, and the new trucks reduce air particulate emissions by up to 90 percent, Waste Management said in a news release.

"For each truck replaced with CNG, the use of diesel fuel is reduced by an average of 8,000 gallons per year," the release said.

Waste Management collects solid waste and recycling in Cranston, Providence, Burrillville and Woonsocket, and other customers throughout the state.

Only 34 states have CNG fueling sites, according to CNGlocator.net . In Massachusetts, the MBTA's web site reports it runs 360 buses on CNG. The state of California also has extensive fleets of CNG city and county vehicles, and a California state web site says while the initial outset cost of a CNG vehicle is higher, the fuel itself costs on average a third less than conventional gasoline.