

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAFAYETTE, IN (January 16, 2025) —The City of Lafayette, a Drive Clean Indiana member, celebrated the acquisition of two of Indiana’s first all-electric garbage trucks with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. The trucks were secured with $1,025,622 in funding from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust. The diesel replacement grant application was written by Indiana’s sole Clean Cities and Communities coalition, Drive Clean Indiana, to secure the funding for the project.
The electric garbage trucks are sufficient for everyday use, providing up to eight hours of operation for 1,000 stops. The truck consumes an average of 1.07 kWh/mi and operates at an average speed of 21 mph.
Pictured left to right: Shane Langemeier – Sr. Accounts Manager & Sales Development (Best Equipment), Travis Lee – Director of Fleet Maintenance (City of Lafayette), Quinten Smith – Sanitation General Foreman (City of Lafayette), Craig Teune – Director of Vocational Sales (M&K Truck Centers)
View more images from Wednesday’s ribbon cutting here.
Drive Clean Indiana’s Program Director, Ryan Lisek, said, “Drive Clean Indiana is proud of the City of Lafayette for its great leadership in working to decarbonize its emissions with the new all-electric garbage trucks. This project improves the quality of life and lowers the carbon footprint for the local community.”
In October 2017, Governor Eric J. Holcomb signed an executive order outlining steps to distribute Indiana’s $40.9 million portion of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund, which was formed as a result of a settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Volkswagen Corporation for its violation of the federal Clean Air Act.
The executive order established the 11-member Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund Committee and named the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) as the beneficiary and the administrative agency for the trust fund. Projects eligible for grant funds under the program must reduce NOx emissions from diesel-powered vehicles and equipment and include the replacement and repowering of existing diesel vehicles or equipment with cleaner alternatives serving the same purpose.
About Drive Clean Indiana
Drive Clean Indiana is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization managed by Legacy Environmental Services, Inc., an Indiana Certified Women’s Business Enterprise, and serves the entire state of Indiana. Designated as the 71st Clean Cities and Communities coalition on June 15, 1999, Drive Clean Indiana is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s more than 75 Clean Cities and Communities coalitions and is the only Clean Cities and Communities coalition throughout the state of Indiana. The organization supports our nation’s energy and economic security by building partnerships to advance affordable domestic transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving technologies and practices. Learn more at www.drivecleanindiana.org.
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