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MIDVALE — Even the smallest cars can put out plenty of pollution. But now, one of the biggest trucks on the road is putting out a lot less.
"It's good all the way around," said Saul Lopez, long-time driver for Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling.
Lopez has won plenty of awards as a garbage truck driver for the past eight years, including a Driver of the Year award in 2012.
"I mean, there's so many," Lopez said. "I'm honored to have that."
But what he may be most proud of is the garbage truck he drives, which is cleaner than ever.
All 46 of Wasatch Front Waste's residential garbage trucks are now fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of diesel.
"Health wise, you don't have to be breathing that stinky diesel smell, you know?" Lopez said.
The CNG is better for him and better for air quality, which is just one reason the fleet ditched diesel starting five years ago.
"It's the right thing to do," said Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District executive director Pam Roberts. “It cost more money, but I’ve never known 'the right thing to do' not costing more money. It’s what you do."
CNG trucks cost about $30,000 more each than diesel trucks, but Wasatch Front Waste makes the money back in fuel savings. Currently, diesel in Utah is going for about $2.80 to $3 a gallon; compressed natural gas is about $1.70 per gallon.
"We saved $780,000 in fuel costs with the past two to three years alone," Roberts said.
"For the environment, for us, I think it's a win-win,” he said.
