Recognized in the category of Sustainable Facility, the plant is located at Waste Management’s Altamont Landfill and Resource Recovery Facility near Livermore, California. The plant, which produces up to 13,000 gallons a day of near zero carbon fuel, is owned and operated by a joint venture between Linde North America, part of The Linde Group, and Waste Management, North America’s largest waste management company.

The award recognizes exceptional leadership in conserving California’s resources, protecting and enhancing the environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the state’s economy.

Since Linde and Waste Management’s plant began operating in September 2009, it has produced more than two million gallons of renewable fuel from landfill gas generated through the decomposition of waste at the Altamont Landfill. More than 300 of Waste Management’s liquid natural gas collection vehicles in California are powered daily by the fuel generated at the Altamont facility, displacing tens of thousands of tons of vehicular greenhouse gas emissions annually.

We are closing the loop in the waste disposal business. Our natural gas collection vehicles produce 97 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than comparable diesel fuel vehicles. Creating a healthier environment through reduced emissions and improved air quality is the essence of green innovation. Waste Management is proud to be recognized for this achievement.

—Duane Woods, senior vice president for Waste Management’s Western Group

By displacing 2.5 million gallons of diesel a year, the renewable biogas from the plant eliminates more than 30,000 tons a year of transportation greenhouse gases. NO_x is reduced by nearly 200 tons and particulate matter emissions by more than four tons a year.

Four California agencies contributed to this project, including the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.