Canadian refuse hauler Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. has scored highly in a carbon emissions tracking report, following its corporate initiative to replace diesel-powered collection fleet with vehicles using natural gas, the company announced.

The hauler received its highest score of 96 out of 100 in the 10 years it has participated in the CDP Report, which was (previously known as the Carbon Disclosure Project.

The company launched its corporate vehicle replacement initiative in 2013, and now has the largest fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered collection vehicles in Canada. 

They have increased the efficiency of their landfill gas collection systems through the adoption of new system designs and technologies. The capture of landfill gases has led to the reuse of the gas as a renewable energy source, creating enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes or offsetting the use of approximately 200,000 barrels of oil annually.

In March 2015, the company officially opened its renewable natural gas facility, the largest of its kind in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The facility, located in Terrebonne, Quebec, near Montreal, is converting landfill gas to natural gas which is then delivered to the TransCanada pipeline network, via an injection point across from the landfill site. The facility is designed to process approximately 10,000 cubic feet per minute of incoming landfill gas.

The new plant will also result in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over a 10-year period.

The CDP Report can be found here.