The mayoral election in New York City is turning to trash. Literally.
In a recent announcement made by mayoral candidate Sal Albanese, a relatively quiet Democratic primary has taken a turn for the dump. And it all has to do with garbage trucks.
Albanese has brought to the public’s attention the fact that current mayor de Blasio has approved a purchase of 340 new diesel trucks for the city’s sanitation department. While this may not seem to be a big deal to the average consumer, Albanese is angered because he believes diesel trucks aren’t always the best option for mass transit. Considering that de Blasio has continuously rallied for different environmental protection statutes and laws, Albanese finds it to be a little suspicious that de Blasio didn’t choose another environmentally friendly option, like natural gas.
Natural gas is often viewed as a more environmentally friendly gas as opposed to diesel since it is easier to source. In fact, there are more than 11 million road vehicles worldwide that run on compressed or liquefied natural gas as fuel, and Albanese wants to make this conversion for the city’s garbage trucks.
In his announcement in front of New York’s City Hall, Albanese explained that only 44 of the city’s 2,047 Sanitation Department trucks run on natural gas. He said even making the switch to a couple dozen more could really make a huge impact and allow the city to stick with their sustainability and environmental protection guidelines they set a few years back.
The Sanitation Department has set an impressive goal of reducing their carbon footprint by 80% come 2035. While this doesn’t just mean they are focusing their efforts on only garbage trucks, considering that the average person generates over four pounds of trash every single day, waste management encompasses a huge portion of their plan.
Additionally, Albanese explained vehicles that run on natural gas are initially cheaper to fund than diesel trucks, which can help to stabilize New York’s budget plan bit by bit.
Not only that, but Albanese believes that the state of New York’s garbage trucks acts as a representation of the city as a whole.
“New York City should not have the dirtiest sanitation fleet in America – that’s what we have right now,” he emphasized in his city hall declaration, the New York Post reports.
This seemingly random dig at de Blasio comes only a few weeks before the Democratic primary that will be held in New York City. If Albanese wins, de Blasio will not be able to run for re-election.
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