Effect of a change towards compressed natural gas vehicles on the emissions of the Milan waste collection fleet

This paper discusses the contribution of waste collection vehicles to atmospheric emissions in the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy. The emissions of the Milan Environmental Services Agency vehicle fleet are estimated for 2005–2010. The effects of the renewal of the fleet, as well as increasing compressed natural gas usage are analysed. We find that that between 2005 and 2010, that was a reduction of 32%, 22% and 15% in PM, NOx and VOC emissions due to the refurbishment of the vehicles using conventional fuels, such as gasoline and diesel and the change to compressed natural gas. VOCs decreased less because the change to natural gas vehicles has less impact on these emissions.

Research highlights► The paper looks at the contribution of waste collection vehicles to the emissions in the metropolitan area of Milan. ► The emissions of the vehicle fleet were also calculated for the 2005 and 2010 to estimate the effect of the introduction of CNG vehicles. ► The introduction of newer conventional collection vehicle combined with a higher proportion of compressed natural gas vehicles significantly reduces pollution.