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A fleet of Buckeye trucks is next in line to go green.

Duncan & Son Lines is committed to replacing 100 trucks in its fleet to be green, more environmentally friendly vehicles at an overall estimated cost of close to $11 million.

"We wanted to embrace going green. It leaves a better legacy for our kids," President Rick Duncan said.

About a year ago, the company started taking an active role in recycling and helping the environment, said Security Director Dick Sartor.

The company now recycles cardboard, paper and any kind of metal or scrap metal that can be recycled at local shops, he said.

Then recently, California ports (which are commonly used by much of Duncan & Son's fleet) started pushing for green vehicles or for a placement of fees on vehicles using the ports that are not green vehicles.

"If you think about it, everything you buy - clothing, furniture, electronics - is coming in trucks and from overseas," Sartor said.

The company routinely makes trips to ports in Long Beach and San Pedro, and relies on those ports to bring in the goods to the state.

"This is going to hurt a lot of people," Sartor said, referring to the "mom and pop" trucking businesses that use those ports and may be unable to pay the higher prices for the newer, greener trucks.

"More than 65,000 trucks use those ports each year," Sartor said.

However, Duncan & Son Lines embraced the environmentally friendly plan and tried to determine "what we can do as a company to meet and exceed those demands," Sartor said.

"How do we do that? We go green," Duncan said.

How can a truck go green?
"At first you may ask, trucks run on fuel, how can trucks be green?" Duncan said.

By embracing new technology and using lower-sulfur fuels, the trucks will reduce the carbon footprint they leave behind by reducing the amount of particles put in the air, he said.

The new trucks will reduce pollution by 7/10 of a ton, or 1,400 pounds less particles in the air than the older vehicles.

"That is a lot of little flakes, a lot of little particles" put in the air for us to breathe, Duncan said.

While regular diesel fuel's sulfur emission is 500 parts per million, the newer fuels emit only 15 parts per million.

"I have heard people say that the air coming out of the [green trucks'] stacks is cleaner than the air in L.A., although I don't know that is true," Sartor said.

The company has committed to purchasing 65 trucks this fiscal year, has spent $5 million to date and estimates the total could be close to $11 million when the entire fleet is replaced, said Duncan.

Last week, seven of the 65 trucks purchased this year arrived, and by Friday were out on the streets, he said.

When a new, green truck arrives, an older truck is either pulled off the line and retired or sold from the fleet.

Not only do the trucks run on lower sulfur fuels, but they also have auxiliary power units to heat and cool the cabs of the trucks, thus keeping truckers who sleep in their cabs from having to run their larger engines through the night, Duncan said.

The ports are hoping to have the new green laws and fees into effect by January 2012, but are offering incentives to truckers who upgrade to the greener trucks now rather than waiting the extra four years.

"It is either go green or pay the fees," Sartor said.

Duncan said his company is also offering incentives to drivers to adjust the way they drive to lower fuel emissions.

Having the cleaner-running trucks also helps with getting federal funding for highways, he said.