{"id":335311,"date":"2026-05-28T01:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335311\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T01:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:38:11","slug":"in-long-beach-trash-trucks-will-pick-up-garbage-without-polluting-our-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/335311\/","title":{"rendered":"In Long Beach, Trash Trucks Will Pick Up Garbage Without Polluting Our Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe you\u2019ve\u00a0witnessed\u00a0it\u00a0firsthand\u2014kids\u00a0in your neighborhood\u00a0rushing out of their homes to greet the trash truck rumbling\u00a0down the block\u00a0to pick up compost, recycling, and\u00a0landfill-bound waste. You\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0be alone in wondering, \u201cWhy\u00a0the\u00a0obsession\u00a0with dirty trash trucks?\u201d But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0true\u2014kids\u00a0love trash trucks!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trash day is an event for many households. When my son was a toddler, I remember welcoming the \u201ctrash truck parade\u201d\u00a0each week,\u00a0which\u00a0broke up\u00a0the\u00a0monotony of our\u00a0morning routine.\u00a0It was something he\u00a0looked forward to,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0also enjoyed\u00a0stepping outside for\u00a0a moment\u00a0to\u00a0see him\u00a0wave to the truck driver, beaming\u00a0with joy when he got a thumbs-up in response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But along with the giddy\u00a0laughter, the noise, and the spectacle of a giant mechanical\u00a0arm-claw dumping our bins into the truck bed,\u00a0these\u00a0diesel\u00a0burning\u00a0trucks\u00a0also brought\u00a0silent\u00a0and\u00a0invisible\u00a0toxic\u00a0air pollution\u00a0to our neighborhood.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0why\u00a0I was thrilled when\u00a0last year\u00a0the City of\u00a0Long\u00a0Beach\u00a0committed to transitioning 100% of its municipal\u00a0fleet to zero-emission trash trucks.\u00a0Last month,\u00a0local\u00a0leaders\u00a0unveiled\u00a0the first\u00a0new models of non-polluting, fully electric trash trucks designed for both narrow city alleys and\u00a0larger pickup routes, and these trucks are hitting city\u00a0streets\u00a0today.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a milestone\u00a0even\u00a0Oscar the Grouch\u00a0could\u00a0celebrate.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Electric<\/p>\n

A new City of Long Beach EV garbage truck at a press conference unveiling the trucks in Long Beach, California (Stella Kalinina for Earthjustice)<\/p>\n

It has been well\u00a0documented that the pollution\u00a0from\u00a0burning fossil\u00a0fuels, including the methane gas that powers most\u00a0garbage\u00a0trucks, is\u00a0linked to a host of widespread\u00a0health problems\u2014including\u00a0higher\u00a0rates of asthma in children,\u00a0lung disease among elders, and even early death.\u00a0Nowhere is this issue more\u00a0pressing\u00a0than\u00a0the South Coast Air Basin in Southern California, which is one of the most polluted areas of the country.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For California, and the South Coast in particular, this transition isn\u2019t optional; it\u2019s essential.\u00a0Meeting the state\u2019s climate targets and cleaning up some of the worst air in the nation will\u00a0require a concerted shift to zero-emission technologies.\u00a0Long\u00a0Beach\u00a0is showing the way forward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Electrifying these fleets is not just about health and clean air.\u00a0It also\u00a0makes economic sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Electric refuse trucks are cheaper to operate than their diesel and gas-powered counterparts, with lower maintenance costs and lower fuel costs. For cities that are managing tight budgets and now reeling from diesel price spikes, going electric means taxpayer dollars will stretch further while delivering cleaner air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Earthjustice attorney Fernando Gaytan poses with a new City of Long Beach EV garbage truck in Long Beach, California (Stella Kalinina for Earthjustice)<\/p>\n

The Mayor is sending a clear message to other cities: this is no longer theoretical. These technologies exist today, and they\u2019re rolling out on our streets. The question isn\u2019t whether cities can electrify. It\u2019s how long they are willing to wait before they get left behind. Long Beach is now on its way to lead the region, setting the city up for success as it prepares to co-host major global sporting events, including the Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents\u00a0will\u00a0undoubtedly still\u00a0take part in the ritual\u00a0of\u00a0watching\u00a0the\u00a0trash\u00a0truck\u00a0parade with their neighborhood kids.\u00a0But\u00a0in the\u00a0very\u00a0near\u00a0future,\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0get to watch smoother and\u00a0quieter\u00a0trucks that\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0leave behind a trail\u00a0of harmful\u00a0air pollution\u00a0in their wake.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0something to be proud of.\u00a0The\u00a0technology\u00a0is\u00a0here. The\u00a0benefits are real. The\u00a0path forward is clear. The future is electric!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Coalition<\/p>\n

Coalition members at a City of Long Beach conference unveiling its new EV garbage trucks in Long Beach, California (Stella Kalinina for Earthjustice)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maybe you\u2019ve\u00a0witnessed\u00a0it\u00a0firsthand\u2014kids\u00a0in your neighborhood\u00a0rushing out of their homes to greet the trash truck rumbling\u00a0down the block\u00a0to pick up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-335311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}