Enbridge and city of Hamilton partner for carbon-negative bus

The City of Hamilton and Enbridge Gas have teamed up to make the first renewable natural gas fueled bus in Ontario.

Like something out of “Back to the Future” the bus will use organic waste from the landfill, just like Doc Brown’s Delorian.

The vehicle is fueled by upgraded biogas. This is “the gaseous product of the decomposition of organic waste from homes and businesses that has been processed into green fuel,” according to a news release from the city.

The fuel is provided by the StormFisher facility in London.

The bus will use and divert 450 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill in one year, which is the equivalent to 38 garbage trucks. It’s also displacing CO2 emissions from 36,000 litres of diesel consumed in a year.

“Renewable natural gas provides an excellent opportunity for the HSR and City of Hamilton to continue our efforts to lower corporate GHG emissions and move toward targets outlined in our Climate Change Emergency declaration and Corporate Energy and Sustainability Policy,” says Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger in a statement.

According to the city, these RNG buses cost half of what electric buses do and have a similar fuel price as diesel. They can operate during freezing weather conditions and refueling takes minutes, not hours.