NEW YORK CITY –- Garbage truck fleets in a growing number of cities, including New York City and San Francisco, are switching to biodiesel, which experts say can cut soot and greenhouse gas emissions at no extra cost, according to USAgNet. The trend comes amid a nationwide push to displace fossil fuels with home-grown renewable energy like biodiesel and ethanol, which the White House hopes will eventually reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil shipments.

New York City, the largest city in the country, is the latest to pump biofuels into garbage trucks. Starting July 1, the city will fuel its fleet of 4,500 garbage trucks with a blend of five percent biodiesel and 95 percent regular diesel known as B-5. Using B-5, New York’s garbage trucks will emit three percent less particulate pollution, the soot-like emissions thought to trigger health problems such as asthma, according to the National Biodiesel Board.