ROCK ISLAND, IL – By going paperless, recapping tires and buying flex-fuel vehicles, Molineis continuing its efforts to go green, the council’s No. 2 priority this year. As part of the council priority, aldermen wanted a curbside recycling program in place, which was launched on March 31, according to http://qconline.com.

The council wants to encourage green construction and provides environmentally friendly building tips on its Web site and offers a list of tips when someone takes out a building permit.

Council wants staff to implement green practices in city buildings, such as installing compact fluorescent lighting, and to encourage more environmentally-friendly practices, something the fleet department is already doing.

J.D. Schulte, Moline’s fleet manager, said the department bought 20 flex-fuel police cars for $454,478.80. The flex-fuel is a no-cost standard option, and a flex-fuel vehicle can run on regular gasoline or E-85, a higher blend of ethanol that is cheaper than regular gasoline.

Those flex fuel cars will bring Moline’s fleet of flex fuel vehicles up to 52. It has been using E-85 in some of it vehicles since 2005.

Schulte said they lose about 16 percent of performance efficiency using E-85, but the city still saves an average 55 cents per gallon of fuel, a savings that makes up for the loss in efficiency. In addition, using E-85 reduces carbon emissions 2.2 tons annually per car as compared to a vehicle that uses 87 octane gasoline. The police fleet uses 35,000 gallons of gasoline a year. Switching to an all E-85 feet will make an impact in reducing emissions.