Dive Brief:

• In September, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a law that will require a minimum of 90% of New York City's sanitation fleet to meet tougher emissions standards for diesel vehicles.
• The administration is now looking to create similar requirements for private waste and recycling haulers.
• ​The proposal would require 8,300 private trucks to meet federal emissions standards by 2020 in one of the following ways: retrofitting older trucks with new engines or replacing the vehicle.

Dive Insight:

City Council must approve the plan before it is adopted. The proposal is segment of a greater plan to change the city's air pollution code. The expected deadline for the private fleets to meet requirements would be three years after the city vehicles are scheduled to comply. The proposal has received both support and resistance from private haulers, which carries an anticipated cost to haulers of $484 million to comply with the plan. New York City's emissions standards are higher than those set by the EPA. Other cities, such as Louisville, are taking steps to reduce emissions, while groups are working on assessing the environmental impact of sanitation trucks.