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NPEP Success Story: City of Reno
The City of Reno Public Works Eliminates Lead Wheel Weight Use on City Vehicles
The City of Reno Public Works fleet consists of 750 vehicles comprised of police cars, utility trucks, sewer trucks, street maintenance vehicles and assorted off-highway equipment. We are located in northern Nevada on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and are known as “The Biggest Little City in the World”. The Truckee River runs through our beautiful community and empties into Pyramid Lake.
Our organization fuels, maintains and repairs Reno's equipment fleet and our client base consists of all city departments. We perform more than 3,000 vehicle services each year along with other mechanical and tire repair operations.
We currently crush all oil filters, recycle oil, use environmentally friendly solvents, use re-refined motor oil, recycle scrap metal and use recapped or re-treaded tires on our trucks where possible. The next logical step is to remove all lead wheel weights from our public works fleet.
Reno's NPEP Goal
Our goal was to entirely eliminate the use of lead wheel weights on all City of Reno vehicles and equipment as of January 1, 2009, and remove existing lead weights from all vehicles as they come in for routine maintenance.
The replacement steel weights were ordered but not received until January 30, 2009. At that time, all existing lead weights were removed from stock and were sent to a local recycler along with used lead weights that had accumulated in the shop. From January 30, 2009 forward, all weights installed on our vehicles are coated steel.
Source Reduction and Recycling Alternatives Considered
When planning the replacement program, we considered using either zinc or coated steel as suitable replacement material. We decided on coated steel since we are located in a snow and ice area. We were concerned that zinc might corrode from exposure to road salt and may not be as dependable as coated steel. Additionally, we expected that steel weights might be reusable as it became necessary to balance wheels.
As the transition is completed, existing lead wheel weights on vehicles currently in service will be removed, replaced with steel and sent to the local recycler for disposal.
Hurdles Faced
After the decision was made to stop using lead wheel weights, the transition was relatively easy. The transition required staff buy-in and training in the use of the lead-free wheel weights. Since all existing stock of lead wheel weights were disposed of, no lead would accidently be used. With the concurrence and support of staff, this has been a painless conversion.
Waste Minimization Results
The City of Reno eliminated 400 lbs of leaded wheel weights from the public works fleet by the end of January 2009. The increased cost of the weights is about 50% but since labor comprises 90% of the wheel balancing expense, the increase is minimal. As the steel weights become more readily available, the overall cost is expected to drop. At the same time, health care issues related to lead exposure to employees and the environment will be greatly improved.
Lessons Learned
When employees are part of the process of identifying and correcting a health and safety issue, the transition from old to new becomes much easier. The change from the use of toxic material to a safe and environmentally preferable substitute will help keep our employees healthy and improve our ground water.