Atlas Disposal’s Atlas reFuel: a great example of sustainability for NYC!

Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri wrote an article about “NYC’s Chance to Become a World Leader in Urban Sustainability” (theenergycollective.com posted October 11,2013).

In his article he describes that the Department of Sanitation in New York (DSNY) may be the best hope for the success of NYC’s sustainability programs under the Bloomberg administration.  With the second largest refuse fleet in the country (as quoted in the article) each of more than 2650 vehicles consume between 6,000 and 10,000 gallons of diesel a year while dealing with the 4 million tons of waste per year.

Reportedly already composting 10% of the organic waste component (150,000 tons a year), there are plans for the majority of the other organic material to be processed into either composting, anaerobic digestion for heat/power generation or anaerobic digestions into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG).

As an excerpt from the article:

While other U.S. cities may be years ahead of New York when it comes to separate collection of organics, only a handful have begun to utilize the resultant biogas for heat/power applications or vehicle fuel, and none to the scale that DSNY could. (Pierce County Transit in Washington State recently made the shift from fossil natural gas to renewable natural gas in 143 of its 155 buses; Sacramento-based Atlas Disposal is powering 17 of their refuse trucks using RNG produced from organics they collect and process.)

It’s a nice feeling to see the efforts of Sacramento’s own Atlas Disposal through our reFuel depot being recognized!  Much as I applaud the efforts in NYC, I hope that Sacramento continues to lead the way as we continue to increase production of RNG and encourage use of sustainable fuel by the various vehicle fleets within the greater metropolitan area.

Read Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri’s full article here:

NYC’s Chance to Become a World-Class Leader in Urban Sustainability