Dive Brief:
- The Billings Regional landfill plans to collect natural gas from landfill waste to heat 2,100 homes and power garbage trucks. The landfill currently generates enough methane to heat 1,400 households in the Billings, Montana area.
- Both a side-loading and a front-loading sanitation truck powered by CNG will be used for waste collection by the spring.
- After the two trucks have been in use for a year the city will assess their performance and compare the vehicles to diesel trucks. If the CNG trucks' performance match diesel, then the Solid Waste department will begin adding additional CNG vehicles to the fleet.
Dive Insight:
The City of Billings and Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU) signed a 40 year agreement where 15% of the profits from the sale of gas will go to the city. The city received $55,000 in gas sales in 2013. Many municipalities and waste companies have been transforming their fleets to CNG, including Republic Services, Waste Management and Progressive.
