Video of the Week!

It's time again for this weeks garbage truck video!

McNeilus AutoReach body on an Autocar ACX chassis

Today's video features the newest addition to the local Waste Management yard's fleet! It is an Autocar ACX with a McNeilus AutoReach automated side load body. This truck was originally purchased for the Portland, OR yard, however, this truck saw very little action down there. Soon after its purchase, the Portland yard converted it's fleet to trucks running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). As a result, my local yard was able to pick up this truck nearly brand new. The McNeilus AutoReach is really a fun truck to watch, and I hope you guys enjoy the video! Also, I apologize for the audio. Pretty much all you can hear is wind. Right as I began filming, a strong summer thunderstorm rolled in, and kicked up quite the dirt storm! Made for quite the backdrop for the video, but unfortunately, the audio suffered as a result! But don't worry, there will be plenty more video of this truck to come! Enjoy!

More Photos at http://www.flickr.com/deathmetal22/

You can learn more about the AutoReach and other McNeilus Refuse Trucks at: http://www.mcneiluscompanies.com/Refuse/refuse.html

You can learn more about the Autocar ACX cab & chassis at: http://www.autocartruck.com/refuse/ACX.aspx

As always, thanks for reading and take care!

-Bryn

Two Major Milestones Today!

Today is a very big day for me in it's own sort of way.

Six years ago today, I started my YouTube channel. What started out with a simple, shaky video of my neighborhood garbage trucks has now lead me down a six year long journey to places I never would have imagined! Along the way I've met some great people, made some close friends, and have had the opportunity to progress from those first shaky, low-quality videos to the professional quality videos that I work hard to put together today. I've had a lot of support along the way, for which I can't even begin to convey just how thankful I truly am.

Another milestone was reached for me today, as well. Here on this sixth anniversary of my humble beginnings in this online waste industry community, I have also published my 300th video on YouTube! Over the course of those 300 videos, I've progressed from filming the garbage collection on my own street, to filming trucks in other parts of my city. From there, I began traveling to other nearby cities within an hour or so of my hometown to film and photograph their methods of waste collection. Ultimately, I've ended up traveling through three states, from the northern areas of Washington, down through the endless sea of pine trees of Oregon, and to within a couple miles of the Mexican border in California, all in pursuit of filming and photographing the wide array of unique garbage trucks that this world has to offer. And I've only really just scratched the surface. I look forward to spending many more years being an active member of this community and producing hundreds more videos to share with others who share with me this unique interest.

So to celebrate these two milestones, let's take a look back at the very first garbage truck video I ever filmed (mind you, it was actually the fourth video I uploaded to YouTube, but it's my very first, oldest footage) and then of course take a look at my 300th video, uploaded today! Enjoy!

My Very First Garbage Truck Video, Filmed In Early/Mid 2008

Upload #300! My Most Recent Video, Filmed in May of 2014

Thanks again for all of the support everyone! I look forward to seeing what the next six years and next 300 videos have to bring!

-Bryn

Local Garbage Hauler Converting It's Fleet To Clean-Burning Natural Gas

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for going several months without updating this blog. I know I've kind of neglected it, but it's been a rather hectic few months for me personally. But now that things have settled back down, it's time to kick this thing back in gear again, and what better way to start off than with this...

Yesterday, Friday July 11, 2014, I had the honor and privilege of being able to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony held by local, family-owned garbage hauler Basin Disposal of Pasco, WA to unveil their new garbage trucks that run on clean-burning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as well as the accompanying on-site CNG fueling station.

Darrick Dietrich, owner of Basin Disposal, cuts the ribbon at yesterday's ceremony.
Behind him are the company's new CNG-fueled garbage trucks.

At the ceremony, Basin Disposal unveiled their very first, brand new, recently delivered CNG trucks - four residential garbage trucks, and two container delivery trucks. The company currently runs a fleet of over 70 trucks, and plans to replace the entire fleet, currently fueled by diesel, to CNG-powered trucks over the next few years. The switch to CNG provides many benefits, not only to Basin Disposal, but also to the public. CNG burns cleaner than diesel which reduces pollution caused by exhaust emissions. CNG prices are also lower and more stable than diesel prices, as CNG is a domestic fuel, not influenced by activity in the Middle East and other oil-producing countries. This means that customers can expect more stable garbage service rates well into the future. Another benefit is that CNG engines run significantly quieter than diesel engines. In fact, even when running at high RPM's, CNG engines aren't much louder than your personal car. No more being woken up before dawn by the garbage truck!

One of four of Basin Disposal's new CNG-powered residential garbage trucks.
It features a Heil DuraPack 7000 garbage collection body on a Peterbilt 320 cab and chassis,
powered by a Cummins natural gas engine.

Also at yesterday's ceremony, Basin Disposal unveiled their new on-site CNG fueling station, built by TruStar Energy, and fueled by Cascade Natural Gas. The system features TruStar Energy's portable gas compressors, which connect directly to a special gas line run directly to Basin Disposal's site by Cascade Natural Gas. Each compressor can fuel up to eight trucks. Using the portable compressors rather than a traditional brick-and-mortar fueling station allows for easy expansion of the fueling station as the company's natural gas fueling needs grow, and also allows for compressors to be transferred between the company's different locations as needed. Basin Disposal is the first company in Eastern Washington to adopt a CNG-powered fleet and the first company in Eastern Washington to operate a CNG fueling station. This is huge not only for Basin Disposal, but also for the Tri-Cities community, and the whole of Eastern Washington. The company also has plans to open a public quick-fill CNG fueling station at their site for other fleets as well as personal vehicles powered by CNG to fuel up, which should help to encourage others in this region to adopt CNG.

CNG fueling port. Each port has hook-ups for two CNG-powered trucks to refuel simultaneously.

It was truly amazing and I am honored to have been able to be there to watch such a great local family-owned company that's always been such an active part of this community make this huge step forward for this region, and to help pave the way for others in this community to take the same steps.

For more pictures from yesterday's ceremony, and of course of the new trucks, as well as some other trucks from Basin Disposal's fleet, click here!

As always, thanks for reading, and take care!

-Bryn