Waste Management Opens Public Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station in Santa Ana

Aug. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Commercial fleet drivers and owners of CNG-equipped vehicles can now fuel up at a new natural gas fueling station in Santa Ana. Today, Waste Management of Orange County representatives and officials from PetroCard, the City of Santa Ana and the South Coast Air Quality Management District celebrated the grand opening of the station, one of only a few CNG stations operating in Orange County.

The new Clean N’ Green Fuel public fueling station, operated by PetroCard, will sell CNG to commercial fleets – transit agencies, school districts, taxis, cities and municipalities – as well as private individuals with CNG-equipped vehicles, at prices typically one-third below the cost of gasoline and diesel.  In addition to cost savings, nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by up to 50 percent and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are reduced by over 21 percent compared to standard diesel trucks.  GHGs can be reduced by over 80 percent when using landfill gas derived CNG and LNG fuel.  As an additional benefit, CNG trucks run 50 percent quieter than diesel trucks.

In addition, Waste Management has added new infrastructure to fuel its existing fleet of CNG recycling and trash collection vehicles at the Santa Ana site.  The company currently operates the largest fleet of heavy-duty natural gas trucks in all of North America. Approximately 80 percent of these natural gas trucks operate in Southern California including 141 natural gas powered trucks in Orange County.

“We are dedicated to doing business in the most sustainable way possible as well as offering our customers more ways to live green,” said Jason Rose, general manager and vice president of Waste Management of San Diego and Orange County. “Natural gas powered vehicles run cleaner and quieter, improving air quality and reducing noise pollution. Santa Ana can look forward to cleaner air and neighborhoods as we get more CNG vehicles on the road.”

“CNG is addressing two of the biggest imperatives for fleet owners today – reducing costs and decreasing emissions,” said Steve Tolton, CEO of PetroCard. “Our collaboration with Waste Management at this facility makes it more convenient for fleet owners to save money at the pump while shrinking their carbon footprint from operations.”

The new station is just one of several green initiatives Waste Management has rolled out in Santa Ana in recent months.  The company and the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency unveiled eight new solar powered trash compactors at the Santa Ana Train Depot. The compactors will help reduce trash collection frequency, costs, and fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions at the landmark facility.

"The City of Santa Ana is truly committed to cleaning up our neighborhoods and our environment," said Mayor Miguel Pulido. "Working in collaboration with Waste Management and PetroCard, we continue to build upon our green initiatives.”

ET Environmental built the Santa Ana CNG fueling facility and Clean Energy built the time fill.  Waste Management and PetroCard funded construction with financial assistance from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is the largest residential recycler and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. For more information on Waste Management visit www.wm.com.

About PetroCard
PetroCard, based in Kent, Washington, is a leading fuel distributor, selling to commercial fleets through a chain of unattended cardlocks and providing mobile fueling services. Today the company has 68 cardlocks – 28 sites in the greater Seattle, Washington area, 4 sites in Spokane, Washington and 36 sites in Oregon, making it one of the largest cardlock operators in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, PetroCard offers bulk fueling services, selling branded and unbranded fuels and offering over 3,000 lubricant products and operates the Clean N’ Green facilities in Seattle, WA and Camden, NJ. For more information on PetroCard visit www.petrocard.com.