Waste Management (WM) has opened 13 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across the U.S. in the first half of this year, of which nine are publicly accessible.

This brings the company's total number of fueling stations to 31, with another 17 either in operation or in construction by year-end, WM notes. The 13 new CNG fueling stations are located in the following communities:

• Mesa, Ariz.

• Pompano Beach, Fla.

• Venice, Fla.

• Stickney, Ill.

• Louisville, Ky.

• Baltimore, Md.

• Blaine, Minn.

• Portland, Ore.

• Washington, Pa.

• West Jordan, Utah

• Conroe, Texas

• Auburn, Wash.

• Woodinville, Wash.

WM owns the stations, purchases the fuel and finances the construction of the sites, as well as enters into maintenance contracts with third-party companies - a strategy WM says allows it to secure better natural gas prices in the long run.

The company's preferred platform for these stations is to time-fill its trucks according to a set schedule. The trucks utilize a slow-fill method and carry approximately 70 diesel gallon equivalents of CNG, allowing them to run for 10 to 12 hours along their routes.

For publicly accessible fueling stations that serve commercial and consumer vehicles, fast-fill capability is installed. The self-service Clean N'Green Fuel stations are open 24/7 and accept major credit cards as well as fleet cards, WM notes.

“These facilities will serve our rapidly growing CNG-powered collection fleet. Those facilities with publicly accessible stations offer fueling solutions to other corporate fleets and consumers as more and more North Americans turn to vehicles fueled by CNG,” says Eric Woods, vice president of fleet and logistics for WM.

WM’s fleet boasts nearly 1,700 CNG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles in North America. By year-end, WM says natural gas vehicles will represent 80% of its annual new truck purchases.