At a press conference at the Township Municipal Building, Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo joined with representatives from Central Jersey Waste and Recycling (the private contractor that Hamilton Township uses for solid waste garbage collection) and Clean Energy Fuels to make the announcement, in front of one of the new vehicles that runs on natural gas.

"People say that words are only as good as the actions put behind them. Here in Hamilton Township, we are not just saying that our environmental motto is keeping our community 'Clean and Green', we are living by that mantra. We are moving our Township in the right direction when it comes to protecting our environment," said Mayor Bencivengo. "Today, we are taking a step that will not only improve the quality of life for Hamilton residents, but encourage other towns from all across the state to follow our example and create a cleaner New Jersey for us all."

As part of the Township's current solid waste garbage collection contract, Mayor Bencivengo's administration specified that clean fuel technology be used by its garbage collection service contractor, Central Jersey Waste and Recycling, during the 2009 calendar year. Central Jersey Waste & Recycling, Inc., a solid waste and recyclable material collection company based in Trenton and Ewing, constructed a state-of-the-art natural gas re-fueling facility at its Trenton, New Jersey property to service the Township’s needs. In addition, Central Jersey Waste and Recycling purchased 10 new natural gas-fueled refuse trucks, which will operate 6 days a week in Hamilton Township. These 10 new natural-gas fueled trucks will replace 10 diesel-fueled trucks previously used in Hamilton for garbage collection.

Central Jersey Waste and Recycling will work with Clean Energy Fuels to operate and maintain the fueling station, the first of its kind in New Jersey. Central Jersey Waste plans on expanding its use of natural gas fueled vehicles and expects to maintain the distinction of having the largest natural gas-fueled solid waste collection fleet in the state. “Central Jersey Waste is proud to have committed to the most efficient and environmentally friendly solid waste and recyclable material collection operation in the State of New Jersey. To that end, Central Jersey Waste has committed millions of dollars in capital improvements for natural gas fueling infrastructure at its operations base, lowering soot and other airborne emissions, lowering noise levels and increasing the efficiency of its operations,” said Frank Fiumefreddo, Jr., President.

Improving the emissions of garbage trucks is a major step at improving the environment because garbage trucks pollute more than any other vehicle on the road today. However, natural gas vehicles on the road are the cleanest vehicles - much more so than diesel garbage trucks that are used today by most communities.

The positive environmental benefits of clean-burning natural gas trucks include:

- Greater than an 85% reduction in Nitrogen Oxide NOx (Smog) emissions

- Greater than a 90% reduction in Particulate Matter PM (Soot) emissions

- A 23 % reduction in Green House Gases as compared to diesel trucks

- Replacing just one diesel garbage truck with a natural gas garbage truck has the same emission benefits as taking 325 cars off the road per year

Natural gas trucks are also 90% quieter than diesel trucks. Therefore, Hamilton residents will enjoy the noise-reduction.

In addition, the clean-burning natural gas is domestic, which increases our nation's energy security and will directly reduce the amount of foreign-imported diesel fuel used by Central Jersey Waste and Recycling.

Overall, Central Jersey Waste and Recycling has estimated replacing over 150,000 gallons of foreign-produced diesel with domestically-produced, clean burning natural gas with its new trucks that will be serving Hamilton Township. As Central Jersey expands its operations and purchases more vehicles, they anticipate replacing 300,000 gallons of foreign-produced diesel with domestically-produced natural gas within the next two years.

"I want to commend Central Jersey Waste and Recycling on working with us to help make this significant environmental achievement possible," concluded Mayor Bencivengo. "Together, the result will benefit current and future Hamilton residents for years to come."

Photo: (From Left to Right) Michael Fiumefreddo, Vice President of Central Jersey Waste and Recycling, Inc.; Hamilton Township Mayor John Bencivengo; Frank Fiumefreddo, Jr., President of Central Jersey Waste and Recycling, Inc.; and Richard Balgowan, Hamilton Township Director of Public Works stand in front of one of Central Jersey Waste and Recycling’s new natural gas-fueled refuse garbage collection trucks that will be servicing the residents of Hamilton Township.