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From The Cover
Clearing the path to sustainability: How municipalities are reducing carbon with the Optimus Vector System By HARPER YORK
Across the nation, municipal fleet managers struggle with the challenge of making their fleets sustainable while balancing priorities: namely, not breaking budgets, finding solutions that are available today, meeting demanding equipment and operating specifications, while avoiding deep investments in all-new infrastructure. In the heart of the Midwest, Rich Iverson prepares his snowplow fleet for the coming winter. Five hours Northeast, engineers prepare the city of Madison fleet for a remarkable transformation. Along the shores of Lake Michigan, the Chicago Parks Department assesses damage from the latest windstorm. In the nation’s capital, Ryan 10 THE MUNICIPAL | NOVEMBER 2021
Frasier of the District of Columbia Department of Public Works deploys the country’s largest fleet of sustainable garbage trucks and snowplows. In each of these cities, fleet personnel confronted the questions of how to make their trucks more sustainable; how could they address climate change now? In each case, they came to the same conclusion,
ABOVE: District of Columbia Department of Public Works has installed The Vector System on 70 of its trucks, with another 63 on order. Optimus has given it the ability to cut its carbon beyond current reduction goals. (Photo provided)
and in each case, they are running 100% biodiesel in their heavy-duty vehicles. Yes, 100% biodiesel. Biodiesel is a sustainable, domestically sourced, advanced biofuel with a nearzero carbon. Made from waste fats and oils — like used cooking oil and animal tallow — its biogenic nature reduces Scope 1 carbon emissions by 100%. It’s an immediate solution that can have major impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel’s
