FAIRBURN, GA - U.S. Foodservice-Atlanta has become the first major foodservice distributor in Georgia to run its entire delivery fleet on biodiesel fuel.

All of the Atlanta division's 185 tractors and 210 trailers began using biodiesel fuel last week following its first 7,500-gallon delivery of B-5, a blend of diesel containing 5 percent biodiesel.

"Utilizing biodiesel is a continuation of our ongoing environmental strategy," said John Leake, president of U.S. Foodservice-Atlanta. "Improving our overall impact on the environment - while helping our customers find effective ways to do the same - not only makes good business sense, it's the right thing to do."

The Atlanta division expects to cut its fleet carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 788,000 lbs. - or about 4 percent - annually. That's roughly the equivalent of taking 65 cars off the road or of planting more than 3,150 trees every year.

The biodiesel is locally sourced and refined, and is a product of S.A. White Oil Co. of Marietta.

U.S. Foodservice-Atlanta is active with and has a leadership role in several local, regional, and state efforts to promote and protect the environment including the Georgia DNR Project, Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia and the Atlanta Zero Waste Zone. The division, which serves the entire state of Georgia and operations in parts of the five bordering states of Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, already has a number of "green" achievements to its credit. These include:

• Reducing electrical consumption by 18 percent with the use of T8 fluorescent lamps in its warehouse operations.

• Decreasing waste by 55 percent through recovery and recycling programs.

• Saving fuel by decreasing truck idle time below 2 percent.

Atlanta is the third U.S. Foodservice division to use biodiesel in its fleet. It joins divisions in Streator, Ill., and Plymouth, Minn.

The company's Fort Mill, S.C. division also recently announced its efforts to "green" up its operations through cutting back on idling and increasing its fuel efficiency.