Our view: Local utilities reduce waste, greenhouse gas with RNG projects - Press of Atlantic City

Our view: Local utilities reduce waste, greenhouse gas with RNG projects

South Jersey utilities continue to increase the efficiency of their processes. That reduces waste and costs, and when the production of powerful greenhouse gases are involved, makes a substantial and pretty painless contribution toward meeting climate goals.

The Atlantic County Utilities Authority -- an environmental innovator in wind power, recycling, power storage and much more -- some years ago started capturing the gas produced by its large landfill in Egg Harbor Township. This gas is mostly methane, the product of decomposing organic waste. The ACUA used captured landfill gas to power its Environmental Park headquarters and put the rest of its energy into the grid. That saved ratepayers more than $8.5 million and kept 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

This fall the ACUA partnered with South Jersey Industries and OPAL Fuels on a new use for the landfill gas, creating the region’s first facility to make renewable natural gas (RNG) from decomposing trash.

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Then last week, South Jersey Industries announced a major effort to repurpose organic garbage before it goes to landfills. SJI will partner with Captona and RNG Energy Solutions to construct one of the largest food-waste-to-RNG facilities in the nation. Based in Linden, Union County, it will produce pipeline-ready RNG for use by customers of SJI’s Elizabethtown Gas subsidiary.

The Linden Renewable Energy plant will convert up to 1,475 tons of waste a day, producing the RNG energy equivalent of 30,000 gallons of gasoline a day. Food waste and grease waste will be gathered from industrial, commercial and institutional food service establishments in New York and New Jersey.

Waste haulers in New York City and New Jersey will provide source-separated waste to satellite sites, where it will be prepared for anaerobic digestion at the Linden plant. That natural process breaks down waste in the absence of oxygen to produce natural gas and a nutrient-rich material that can be used as fertilizer.

“It’s a triple win for us,” said SJI President and CEO Mike Renna. “It repurposes food waste, generates renewable energy that our customers can benefit from, and bolsters our commitment to environmental stewardship.”

Captona’s existing energy transition projects include fuel cell, solar and storage. Phoenix Power Group will handle engineering, procurement and construction of the plant.

Work on the project began this month. The plant is expected to be completed early in 2026.

The U.S. annually produces 103 million tons of food waste, about half of which goes into landfills or incinerators or onto land. People, businesses and institutions in New Jersey alone discard an estimated million and a half tons of food a year.

The best and most direct efficiency improvement to address food waste is in the hands of consumers. They can throw away less food. We’ve supported the federal effort to update food labeling to make it clearer when food is still safe to eat. Existing labeling often leads people to think that food has spoiled and shouldn’t be eaten -- wasting food and money, and usually producing methane.

Capturing and using landfill gas is good. Producing renewable natural gas from food waste is better. The best is simply wasting less food, saving money and increasing the amount of food available to feed the 8 billion hungry people of the world. All are crucial to living responsibly and sustainably.