LOS ANGELES — The ‘clean truck’ program that turns away older, polluting trucks kicked off at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach yesterday.

According to several media reports, few truckers were turned away. But that could be because many non-certified drivers didn’t bother showing up for work.

The union-inspired program bans pre-1989 trucks and independent owner-operators. Under the plan, only company and union drivers are allowed access to the ports in order to better monitor cleaner trucks and increase security.

Access permits have been issued to about 15,000 truckers at Long Beach and more than 20,000 in L.A.

The program has been challenged by the American Trucking Associations, which argues that forcing owner-ops out of the ports is unconstitutional. A federal judge recently dismissed that argument however, clearing the way for the ports to commence the program.

The first day of implementation went off with few disruptions. Reportedly, though, some non-compliant trucks without port-issued stickers were waved through anyway in order to avoid backups.

However, truck traffic seemed to be down at several terminals. APM Terminals, the operator for Maersk Inc., reported truck volume down 25 to 35 percent on the morning shift, according to the Journal of Commerce.

It’s assumed that many drivers who still haven’t gotten their Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) didn’t come to work.

Meanwhile, the Federal Maritime Commission is investigating the clean truck programs. The government agency says it’s concerned with some of the provisions in the plan.