New York City Adopts Law for Waste Truck Emission Reductions (Updated)

New York City adopted a new law that requires all waste vehicles operating in the city to use only post-2007 engines by 2020 to reduce emissions.

The Washington-based National Waste & Recycling Association expressed concern about the cost of complying with the law.

Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law a requirement that all heavy-duty trade waste hauling vehicles authorized by the city’s Business Integrity Commission (BIC) for commercial trash removal use the best available retrofit technology or be equipped with an engine that meets the 2007 engine standard established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to a news release.

The BIC commissioner will establish the best available retrofit technology at least 18 months in advance to give the industry enough time to determine how best to reduce their truck emissions.

The city already is requiring that all city-owned heavy-duty vehicles by 2017 use the post-2007 engines that produce about 90-percent fewer emissions than earlier trucks.

The cost of compliance could be as much as $1 billion, according to a city-sponsored report, and that will be difficult to pass along, said David Biderman, vice president of government affairs for the association.

“The good news is that the carters don't need to comply with this until 2020, and by then there should be a lot of used post-2007 trucks available,” he said in an e-mail.