News Releases

        LEOLA, PA – Most people expect a taxi to be yellow. But that’s not the case at Metro Taxi in Denver. This company has earned the nickname of “Greenest Taxi Company in the Nation” by going green with hybrid vehicles and eco-friendly operating systems.

            “Our goal is to reduce the impact of the carbon footprint we produce both on the road and at our company headquarters,” says Brian Horvath, fleet manager of Metro Taxi. “We’re steadily replacing our older taxis with Toyota Prius Hybrid cars and plan to continue with this until we have a complete fleet of hybrid vehicles, which should be in about three years. By our estimates, we’ll be able to save 2.6 million gallons of gas annually once our fleet of almost 500 vehicles is completely converted.”

            Behind the scenes at Metro Taxi the green efforts are just as visible and intense. The company uses two Clean Burn used-oil furnaces in their maintenance facility to recycle used-oil on site from oil changes to the taxis.

            “We transform an average of 500 gallons of used-oil monthly into free heat for our shop using the Clean Burn furnaces,” says Horvath. “We’re also recycling the used- oil during the other months of the year, so this keeps us from sending used-oil to a disposal center. We eliminate the transportation charges and risks, along with potential environmental risks, by recycling the used-oil on site. This allows us to heat our facility without using traditional energy sources.”

            Metro Taxi purchased their Clean Burn furnaces from local distributor Interstate Energy, Inc. in Brighton. “When the general public thinks about Colorado they envision a healthy, outdoor setting with pristine mountain ranges and fresh air,” says Gary Osadchuk with Interstate Energy. “The Clean Burn units operating in our state help keep the environment safe and clean. Metro Taxi represents the best of what a company should be --- a partner with the environment and an innovator in environmental stewardship.”

            In addition to recycling the used-oil from their taxis, Metro Taxi also has a company-wide recycling program, uses wind energy and is exploring the use of solar power. For more information on Metro Taxi’s environmental efforts, visit www.metrotaxidenver.com.

            There are 80,000 Clean Burn functional furnaces and boilers located throughout the world that burn millions of gallons of used-oil each year on-site, at the point of generation. This volume of used-oil would otherwise be transported on highway systems and pose a considerable risk to spills and/or contamination to the environment.

Clean Burn is an ENERGY STAR® partner. The company holds numerous industry certifications and works with the U.S. government, the Environmental Protection Agency and various associations to help coordinate the establishment of standards and regulations related to heat recovery and recycling efforts involving used motor oils. For more information on Clean Burn, visit www.cleanburn.com or call 1-800-331-0183.

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