Late Tuesday, Suffolk County officials decided to convert its entire fleet of 439 public works trucks to biodiesel fuel by the end of next year.

Suffolk will join its neighbor, Nassau County, that also chose to switch its 270 trucks to the cleaner-burning fuel as of Jan 1. The counties are making the switch after doing their own pilot project and successfully testing the biofuel for the past two years.

According to Newsday, Daniel Losquadro (R-Shoreham) said biodiesel fuel cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent to 80 percent, hydrocarbons by up to 30 percent, carbon monoxide by up to 20 percent and cancer-causing particles by 15 percent. He also noted that the same infrastructure could be maintained.