SMITHTOWN, NY – Faced with rising refuse collection costs, the Town of Smithtown, N.Y., is requiring its refuse collection contractors to use compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks. It’s the first New York municipality to institute such a requirement. On Jan. 1, 2007, the 30 contractor-owned diesel refuse trucks collecting solid waste and recyclables from the town’s 115,000 residents will be replaced by CNG models.

This August, Smithtown finalized a list of four refuse collection companies as the low-bidders that will enter into seven-year contracts: Brothers Carting, Dejana Industries, Jody Industries, and V. Garafalo Carting. The companies will be responsible for buying new CNG trucks. To offset the higher cost of CNG trucks versus diesel trucks, the companies can claim the Federal Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit for up to 80 percent of the incremental cost. An alliance of local organizations is helping the contractors find financing options.

To further ease the transition, Smithtown entered into an agreement with natural gas supplier Clean Energy, which operates a nearby fueling station, to set fuel prices through 2013. CNG costs for the refuse trucks will start at $2.33 per diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) through 2008 and increase each year to conclude at $2.94 per DGE in 2013. The contracted CNG price could decrease if the price differential between diesel and CNG goes above a set threshold. Clean Energy will work with natural gas utility KeySpan to expand pipelines and accommodate the new natural gas demand.