On September 19, 2006 the City of Richland recognized Ben Franklin Transit as RichlandÕs Green Business of the Year. This is the second year that Richland has chosen to honor and recognize the environmental efforts of Richland businesses. Conservation efforts extend the life of the Richland landfill, conserves natural resources and reduces maintenance and repair costs for municipal utility operations.

Ben Franklin Transit practices waste prevention and recycling activities both in the office, in out buildings and in their landscape. From office waste to vehicle fluid, batteries and bus wash water are recycled. Recycled rubber bumpers are placed at fueling islands and in the parking lots, and water conservation efforts include a metered drip system for outdoor landscaping and low flow faucets and toilets. The Transit is completing an environmental restoration project that will remove 66,000 gallons of fuel storage and 2,000 gallons of waste oil from close proximity to the river. The transit is also retrofitting the exhaust system on buses to help reduce harmful air pollutants, and encouraging staff to commute by offering incentives and holding campaigns. In just over one year, transit employees shared 4,275 round trips to and from the workplace. Future projects include alternative fuels, smaller vehicles for Dial-A-Ride Services and hybrid vanpool vehicles.

Ben Franklin Transit is also performing dynamometer testing on diesel engines using renewable fuel blends in their transit buses. Under a grant from the National Renewable Fuels Laboratory, Ben Franklin Transit is working with Torque-A-Matic of Spokane Washington and 02Diesel of Newark, Delaware to use 02Diesels biomass-based fuel additive. This additive will allow the cross blending of two primary biofuels. "Biodiesel" a substitute for petroleum based diesel and "Ethanol" used as a substitute for gasoline. Biodiesel, which is produced mainly from oilseed crops, can also come from other sources such as animal fats. Ethanol is also a renewable fuel currently distilled primarily from corn, will in the near future be produced from other sources such as wood waste, wheat straw or switchgrass. Torque-A-Matic's testing of these agricultural based fuels, which are almost totally pollution free substitutes for oil, will provide baseline data to the transit agency on fuel consumption and power output at various levels of blends.