Dive Brief:

• Republic Services announced an expanded agreement with Clean Energy to utilize its Redeem brand of renewable natural gas (RNG) across Republic's fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks in 20 states, according to a press statement. 
• This agreement will increase Republic's usage of RNG by three times what it used in 2016, which could result in an emissions reduction of about 110,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) over three years.
• This partnership is part of Republic's Blue Planet initiative to make operations more sustainable and reduce fleet greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 3% by 2018.

Dive Insight:

While Republic strengthened its commitment to CNG earlier this month with the announcement of 120 new CNG trucks and the expansion of four CNG fueling stations, this partnership with Clean Energy pushes the company toward an even more sustainable future. Clean Energy's Redeem RNG fuel is derived from methane that is generated by the decomposition of organic waste, making it the "lowest carbon intensity fuel that you can purchase," according to Republic's Vice President of Recycling and Sustainability Pete Keller. 

"...We've got a fleet emission reduction goal of 3% ... This might get us 20%. So when you talk about moving the needle, you talk about putting your money when your mouth is, this is something we're pretty serious about," Keller explained in a May interview with Waste Dive. "So we think it's going to resonate with our customers. It's meaningful. Again, fleet is a big impact, it's one of our biggest impacts. So we're doing the things that can be done to lessen our impact as a company."

In a 2016 Sustainability Report, Republic also noted that its fleet of CNG trucks has reduced noise by 90% compared to its older, diesel-powered collection trucks. The report also touted the company's goals to add 150,000 tons to its recycling capacity per year by 2018 and to develop at least two landfill gas-to-energy projects per year through 2018. Together these initiatives have given the company exposure in climate change reports and on the Clean200 list, making Republic a model company for industrywide sustainability progress.

Keller confirmed with Waste Dive that Clean Energy's Redeem fuel has already been rolled out at Republic's 38 CNG fueling stations nationwide.