By Larry Metter, Waste Management.

Undoubtedly, at some point in your day, you pass by a Waste Management truck, perhaps collecting recycling in your neighborhood or driving down one of California’s highways. What you may not know is that the Waste Management fleet is one of the greenest on the road, having committed early to reducing carbon emissions and then achieving those goals well ahead of schedule. That’s why we support the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently proposed phase 2 greenhouse gas reduction rule to cut carbon pollution and increase the fuel efficiency of medium and heavy-duty trucks. We can speak from experience: these standards are tough yet achievable with our strategy to convert our fleet to natural gas.

Our mission is to leave the planet to future generations in better shape than we received it. In 2007, Waste Management identified a set of sustainability goals, including reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of our company fleet 15 percent by 2020. We exceeded that benchmark in 2011 when we reduced fleet emissions by over 20 percent. How? Through our steady conversion to a fleet comprising cleaner-burning, natural gas-fueled vehicles.