Green Options

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Truck stop electrification is boosting fuel efficiency and minimizing dependence on foreign oil from idling trucks

There are 1.3 million long-haul diesel trucks with sleeper cabs in the United States, with most drivers averaging over 100,000 miles annually. These trucks are highly affected by skyrocketing fuel prices and are dependent on foreign oil. As the value of the dollar diminishes, transportation costs are partly to blame.

Idling Trucks Waste Fuel

Truck drivers are required to rest for 10 hours for every 11 hours of driving. A large amount of fuel is consumed when drivers leave trucks idling to maintain comfort. 85% of the energy is wasted sleeper cabs are heated by an idling truck. It is even more inefficient to cool the sleeper cab, wasting 94% of the fuel’s energy.

300 garbage collection trucks in California will soon be fueled by the same trash that they haul. Landfill gas will be purified and liquefied, producing up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) daily.

This facility at Waste Management’s (WMI: NYSE) Altamont Landfill in Livermore, California will begin operation in 2009. It comes with a price tag of $15.5 million, with grants providing $1.4 million.

Cleaner Fuel

Waste Management is the largest waste management company in North America and operates the largest US fleet of heavy-duty collection trucks. The company has a goal to reduce fleet emissions by 15% by 2020.

They say that location is everything. Where your business is located can certainly have a big impact on your operations and your bottom line. It can also have a big impact on the planet.

Many small businesses are born in the most humble of beginnings: a small corner of a bedroom, the kitchen table of an apartment, maybe even a closet. Most expand to off-site offices as they grow, leaving behind the convenience of working from home for the increased visibility and professionalism of a “real office.” But for many types of businesses, having an off-site office is not at all necessary. Especially if much of the work revolves around a computer.