Last week I was in New York City covering a Mack Trucks press event involving the City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The DSNY is the world’s largest sanitation department. On a daily basis it collects more than 10,500 tons of residential and institutional garbage, along with 1,760 tons of recyclables. And when it’s called for, the DSNY also clears litter, snow, and ice from approximately 6,000 miles of streets. The equipment used to accomplish this dual mission is primarily a fleet of 2,230 Mack Truck collection vehicles.
So if one were to test a new technology, New York City would most definitely be trial by fire. The new technology Mack and the DSNY will be putting through its paces will be the alternative fuel, dimethyl ether or DME. At the press event I spoke to John Walsh, the vice president of global marketing and brand management for Mack Trucks. Here’s what he had to say about DME and Mack’s continuing efforts to innovate.
