Our Success Story this week chronicles Waste Management’s Altamont Landfill in Livermore, California. In the late 1980’s it became a “waste to wheels” pioneer by using landfill methane gas to power turbines to generate electricity; enough to run 8,000 area homes and a liquefied natural gas plant. That plant now provides ‘Renewable’ natural gas for some 300 refuse vehicles. An elaborate network of well heads captures the landfill gas emitted from the nearly 3,500 tons of waste received every day.   

TIANNA NOUROT: It’s an engineered system that we have lots of checks and balances in place to make sure that we’re doing it in an environmentally friendly and sound way.

JOHN DAVIS: The East Bay Clean Cities Coalition helped Waste Management secure funding to add a CNG fueling station to their existing LNG station. Converting landfill gas into clean energy shows that nothing goes to “waste” for the residents of northern California.

For more information, please visit the Clean Cities website. You can also view recent segments by clicking here.