A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Diesel Powered Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs)

The transportation sector in Canada is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to move to a greener economy by reducing these and other emissions, alternatives to conventional fossil-fuel burning vehicles are being sought by individuals and organizations. In order to assess the economic and environmental effects macroscopically of traditional and emerging technology vehicles, consultants and researchers have performed life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a technique that evaluates the environmental impact and cost of a specific technology comprehensively from raw materials to disposal or recycling. In this study, comparative LCA of two refuse truck technologies has been conducted. A compressed natural-gas (CNG) powered refuse collection vehicle (RCV) has been compared with a diesel powered RCV. The LCA has been performed for a specific Canadian city–the City of Surrey, which is the second largest city in British Columbia. The study uses reliable and real-time operational data obtained from the City of Surrey’s municipal fleet operations. The tool used to perform the LCA was GHGenius, which is an established LCA tool developed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The LCA results revealed that despite no net reduction of energy consumed per kilometre driven, a significant reduction in GHG emissions can be achieved by the adaptation of CNG RCVs. It was found that a reduction of 24% CO2-equivalent can be obtained. In addition to the reduction in environmental impact, it was found that significant reduction of overall lifetime costs can be achieved. Considering fuel cost estimations for a five year lifetime for both RCVs, it was found that the adoption of CNG RCVs over diesel RCVs may reduce costs by as much as $100,000 per vehicle, equivalent to 61% in savings. Based on these promising results, it is recommended to the stakeholders at the City of Surrey and similar municipalities in Canada and elsewhere to consider adoption of CNG powered RCVs.