Mayor Steven M. Fulop said on June 3 that Jersey City has been awarded more than $2 million by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to purchase five new electric garbage trucks. The new clean energy trucks will be the first of their kind in Jersey City and are the latest addition to the city’s energy-efficient municipal fleet.

Jersey City’s proposal to replace five diesel garbage trucks with all electric trucks was selected among more than 150 project proposals submitted to the DEP. The award is part of the state’s $72.2 million share of federal settlements following a lawsuit against Volkswagen for recording fraudulent emission levels in its diesel vehicles.

According to the DEP, transportation sector emissions account for 71 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as 42 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions in New Jersey. In distributing the second round of funding, the DEP focused on promoting electrification to replace heavy-duty vehicles in overburdened communities. Of the $16 million disbursed in the second round of funding, the city will receive $2,046,000 in total for the new vehicles. Other projects awarded include school buses and port-related vehicles.