Every April the celebration of Earth Day is met with advice on how to “go green” to protect our planet, but truck drivers and other mobile professionals are met with unique challenges. The culture in the United States is often focused on convenience rather than sustainability, so we’ve compiled the top three ways you can be eco-friendly while on the road.
How to Stay Eco-Friendly as a Truck Driver:
- Recycle
- Reduce waste and reuse items when possible
- Optimize fuel efficiency
Recycle
The most common way to be sustainable is through recycling. Being on the road sometimes makes recycling difficult, but it is possible! To make recycling easier, you can:
- Keep a dedicated container in your truck to store recyclable products until you find a drop-off location.
- Use Earth911 to find recycling stations near you and review recycling guidelines.
- Hang onto plastic bags (like you would get from a grocery store) and deposit them at an approved site.
- Recycle batteries, tires and other automotive products when you upgrade your truck.
Reduce and Reuse
You can help limit your waste by reducing unnecessary paper and plastic usage and reusing items when possible. For example, try going paperless! Your ELD already helps reduce paper waste as you log your hours, but you can also scan and upload documents digitally instead of mailing them using a document scanning app. For example, RTS Pro, our mobile app, offers an easy document uploading process for factoring customers.
You can also plan for your trips by packing a fabric tote bag and reusable water bottle, and bringing your snacks and food in reusable containers to cut down on the amount of single-use plastics you accumulate along the way.
Optimize Fuel Efficiency
The most effective way to decrease your carbon footprint is to increase your fuel efficiency by doing the following:
- Plan your routes ahead of time. This avoids unnecessary fuel usage by using the shortest route and avoiding traffic.
- Fill up your tank in the morning. Because fuel expands in the heat, filling up when it’s cooler means you’ll get more gas in your tank and have to fill up less often.
- Avoid idling your truck. If you know you’ll be sitting somewhere for a while, turn your truck off instead of using fuel to idle.
- Maintain normal speeds while driving. Frequently changing speeds uses more fuel and increases the wear and tear on your vehicle.
- Use less air conditioning if and when possible. A/C increases your fuel consumption and decreases efficiency.
- Keep up on truck maintenance. Not only will preventative maintenance help you avoid big-ticket repairs, but you’ll reduce your emissions by keeping your filters clean and your truck running smoothly.
If you’re looking for more ways to reduce fuel emissions and save on fuel costs and truck maintenance, our RTS Carrier Services team can help!