Hauling Away Garbage with Clean Diesel in Miami-Dade County, Plus Four Takeaways

EPA to upgrade Miami-Dade County waste removal fleet.

Garbage disposal is a big part of our lives that we pretty much take for granted. It's hard to imagine where we'd be if we simply piled up our trash in the back yard. Apartment dwellers would be in an even bigger predicament. 

Waste removal is as old as civilization. Before motorized transports, people hauled their solid waste to the dump in wagons. The first motorized dump truck was produced by the Thornycroft Steam Wagon Company in England in 1897. Garbage trucks saw increased deployment in the 1920's. Initially they were open on top. The foul odors soon led to the revolutionary enclosed style that we're all familiar with today.

Here's an interesting story from Waste Today. Miami-Dade County has won a grant for $1.9 million from the EPA to upgrade their a portion of their waste removal fleet to cleaner diesel. The grant will enable them to purchase 25 new vehicles, 23 of them side-loaders, the article said. The grant will be used for replacing older vehicles that cough pollutants into the atmosphere. The new clean diesel technology will significantly reduce emissions. 

For decades garbage removal vehicles have been diesel-powered beasts of burden. Their muscular ability to haul tons of trash to landfills, as well as their durability over their long stop-and-go lifespan, made diesel the logical power plant of choice for these vehicles. 

This specific grant was awarded through the EPA's special program called the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) with its ongoing mission for a "clean and healthy environment and clean air." 

“This grant from the EPA is an important step forward to build a more sustainable Department of Solid Waste Management, reducing emissions and protecting our environment as we serve our neighborhoods," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. 

Diesel-powered trash removal vehicle in Poland. Whether 
loaded from the rear, the side or the front, these work vehicles
are recognizable because they revolve around a single basic concept. 

TAKEAWAYS  
There are a number of important takeaways for the diesel community in this story.  

1. The EPA recognizes that diesel continues to play an important role in our world today and that diesel will continue to do so. If the EPA is investing in the employment of diesel technology today, it is sending a signal that diesel will not be suddenly gone tomorrow.

2. Local politicians like any help they can get from Federal government to make their communities cleaner. Clean diesel reduces toxic emissions and politicians like to be associated with progress of this type. 

3. While EVs capture headlines in the larger media, diesel power remains the humble, unheralded workhorse that keep America going -- delivering vaccines, transporting our necessities, removing our trash. Fans of diesel tech have much to be proud of, nothing to be ashamed of.

4. When you hear that there's money on the barrelhead for upgrading equipment, go for it. You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.

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For those interested in reading further, here is the story in Waste Today Magazine.