The Lawrenceville, Georgia city fleet supervisor got a surprise when he converted his garbage trucks to biodiesel.
“I was expecting the economy to go down and the trucks to be more sluggish,” [Lamar] Hall said. But now, “I figure it’s about 10 percent more efficient with biodiesel.”
This story in the Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution says the suburban Atlanta community is reaping the benefits of that conversion.
Drivers said their engines had more power. The trucks ran cleaner, Hall said, and came back to the shop with more fuel in the tank.
Now Lawrenceville’s garbage trucks will use a biodiesel mix, a decision that Hall figures will save the city about $12,000 a year in lower fuel costs, increased fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
The article goes on to show how the city saves money each time it pumps biodiesel into a 6,500-gallon fuel holding tank:
• $120 — amount the city saves because biodiesel cost less than ordinary diesel fuel
• $416 — amount the city saves because biodiesel doesn’t require an additive that ordinary diesel requires
• $1,462.50 — amount the city saves because biodiesel fuel results in better gas mileage for its garbage trucks
• $1,998.50 — total amount the city saves each time it fills a 6,500-gallon holding tank
• 6 — number of times a year the city fills its holding tank
• $11,991 — amount the city saves in one year by putting biodiesel in garbage-truck gas tanks
Money in the city’s pockets, less pollutants in the air. Any better example of win-win?