Our Success Story this week comes from Richmond, Virginia-where compressed natural gas refuse trucks are a common sight. The city has acquired 25 high compaction CNG trucks along with 2 natural gas fueled Honda Civics. Federal incentives and support from Virginia Clean Cities helped off-set vehicle costs. A private 13-stall CNG fueling station was also built to automatically time-fill vehicles overnight. City officials say the environmental benefits of CNG are huge. Their refuse trucks emit less carbon dioxide and soot than diesel, with big savings in fuel costs.

CHRIS BESCHLER: Over the two years that we’ve had refuse trucks, we’ve saved approximately $400,000 in fuel costs; about $200,000 annually- and displaced just shy of 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

JOHN DAVIS: There’s also a new public access CNG station that is used by the city’s fleet as well as the Greater Richmond Transit Company’s para-transit buses. With plans for more alt-fuel vehicles, Richmond is leading the way for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

For more information, please visit the Clean Cities website. You can also view recent segments by clicking here.