MEMPHIS, TN- TruGreen, a national lawn care services provider, is testing microGreen Extended Performance Oil Filter on vehicles in Florida in efforts to reduce maintenance costs and emissions. The company is in the beginning stages of a pilot program expected to continue to through March 2010.

As part of the pilot, TruGreen is participating in a microGreen Fleet Adoption Program sponsored by SOMS Technologies LLC, a provider of engine oil filtration products. SOMS' program allows eligible fleets to use the microGreen filter on all of their vehicles and receive free oil analysis to monitor the performance of the filter. The microGreen oil filter utilizes an advanced, patented technology that enables vehicles to operate up to 30,000 miles without an oil change. The microGreen oil filter has two filters in one standard spin-on canister, which ensures oil stays cleaner longer.

Expected to save fleets 65 percent on their maintenance costs while reducing the use of oil by 70 percent and oil filters by 50 percent, the microGreen technology will also save money while significantly decreasing the potential for improper disposal of these hazardous wastes and help protect the environment, according to SOMS.

"Testing and implementing technologies that can help us reduce our impact on the environment is very important to us. If those technologies also provide an economic benefit to our company, everyone wins," said Michael St. Clair, vice president of fleet operations for ServiceMaster, the parent company of TruGreen.

With more 15,000 vehicles, ServiceMaster currently operates the tenth largest commercial fleet in the U.S. and serves residential and commercial customers through a network of more than 5,500 company-owned locations and franchised licenses.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to work with ServiceMaster to help them achieve their maintenance costs and environmental objectives," said Steven Kirchner, COO of SOMS Technologies. "Our Fleet Adoption Program allows fleets to experience the benefits of the microGreen filter and ensure the performance of the filter with independent oil analysis."

"The SOMS pilot program is part of our commitment to developing responsible lawn care practices," said Steve Donly, president of TruGreen. "The significant reduction in oil use is just one example of our passionate pursuit of sustainable business practices."

Another TruGreen initiative aimed at helping the company to reach its environmental sustainability goals is the company's development of lighter-weight, more fuel-efficient route trucks that use electric-powered pumping systems designed to reduce fuel consumption.