Pacific Waste Services, Chula Vista, Calif., has cut emissions using soybean-based diesel fuel and a special additive.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Pacific Waste's 62 trash trucks have been running on an 80-percent diesel, 20-percent biodiesel for a 10-week test. Ethos, a synthetic fuel supplement, was added to the mixture to increase engine efficiency and improve mileage.
The test showed a 46 percent reduction in the trucks' tailpipe emissions, according to the paper, prompting the company to make plans to convert another 62 trucks to the mixture.
Although the fuel mixture added about 15 cents to the cost of a gallon of fuel, it also increased fuel efficiency by 9 percent.
The additive is made by Ethos Environmental, a two-year-old San Diego company.