Recology points to organics diversion in sustainability report

Recology, an employee-owned San Francisco-based waste and recycling firm, says its collection and processing activities helped divert more than 1.3 million tons of recyclable and compostable materials from landfills in 2022.

The company, which has published a sustainability report covering its 2022 activities, says that total includes more than 680,000 tons of material that was composted at Recology facilities, a 12 percent year-over-year increase compared with 2021.

The report indicates that Recology also achieved its goal of powering its fleet with more than 90 percent renewable or alternative energy sources last year. As well, Recology facilities ran on 90 percent renewable or carbon-free electricity, the company says.

“As the largest 100 percent-employee-owned company in our industry, we owe our success to a passionate workforce that’s committed to meeting the ambitious goals we set in our pursuit of a world without waste,” Recology CEO Sal Coniglio says.

Recology owns and operates eight composting facilities in California and Oregon, with the company saying two of them are among the largest on the West Coast. The company’s investment in composting is tied in part to California Senate Bill (SB) 1383, a state law requiring all municipalities to reduce landfilling of compostable materials by 75 percent.

“We continue to prioritize the planet and advance resource recovery by investing in our composting facilities,” Coniglio says. “We hope to further inspire communities across the country as they take vital steps needed to help slow climate change by diverting compostable materials from landfills.”

Within the report, Recology also has announced new five-year sustainability targets.

The company says that by 2028 it has a goal of powering its facilities with 100 percent renewable or carbon-free electricity and another target of using 75 percent of landfill gas collected to generate renewable energy.

Coniglio says Recology will seek alternative energy by pursuing renewable energy projects at its landfills and by implementing solar installations at its facilities.

Other sustainability aspects included in Recology’s report covering 2022 include:

• having “10-times more owned and operated recovery facilities than active landfills;”
• achieving 44 percent reduction in fleet fuel emissions during the past three years;
• collecting 50 percent of its landfill gas to generate renewable electricity;
• investing $60 million in advanced technologies to upgrade sorting capabilities at Recology material recovery facilities; and
• completing its first “materiality assessment,” designed to help prioritize materials recovery and circularity efforts.

“As a leader in resource recovery, Recology has always been focused on sustainability,” Coniglio says of the company, which has some 3,800 employees and operates in California, Oregon and Washington.

The Recology 2023 Sustainability Report, portraying activity in 2022, can be found here.