Published October 12 2015
The city of Bellevue announced today that it will use a more environmentally friendly and cheaper biodiesel for its fleet operations. The new biodiesel, a blend of 80 percent petroleum diesel and 20 percent biodiesel known as B20, is produced from recycled cooking oil instead of virgin-crop oil, which will reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5 percent as compared to petroleum diesel. The fuel will also be purchased at an average cost savings of 28 cents per gallon over the previous B15 blend, saving the city an estimated total of $25,650 per year.
"Our new biodiesel contract is a big win for Bellevue's Environmental Stewardship Initiative," said Emma Johnson, the city's resource conversation manager. "Not only is the city being a good steward of our environment, but we're saving taxpayers a substantial amount of money."
Biodiesel is a renewable, cleaner-burning diesel fuel replacement that is produced from a diverse mix of feedstock including recycled cooking oil, soybean, corn and canola oil, and animal fats. According to the EPA, biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 57 percent for non-recycled oil and up to 86 percent for recycled cooking oil when compared to petroleum diesel. Under the new contract, over 51 percent of the recycled cooking oil will be sourced from a 50-mile radius of Seattle, ensuring that the fuel is made from local resources not shipped from across the country.
The effort to reduce emissions from Bellevue's fleet is part of the city's broader Environmental Stewardship Initiative. The program has had a number of successes, including the replacement of 50 percent the citys fleet vehicles with hybrids and electric alternatives, and a 22 percent reduction in energy usage by City Hall between 2009 and 2014.
The city presents its carbon footprint on an online dashboard -- Environmental Stewardship by the Numbers -- which tracks progress on a variety of environmental targets set in 2007, when Bellevue signed on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.