Republic adds electric trucks, new landfill gas projects in 2024

Republic Services Inc. has released its 2024 Sustainability Report, stating in the 34-page document that it diverted 6.5 million tons of material from landfills last year and processed 4.5 million tons in its own network of facilities.

“With 75 recycling facilities across North America, we provide recycling solutions for millions of customers, contributing to the circular economy and helping meet diversion goals,” the company says in its report. “In 2024, we completed technology and infrastructure upgrades at 35 recycling facilities, including robotic sorting arms at six recycling centers and additional optical sorting units and screens.”

The Phoenix-based waste and recycling firm also highlights activity at its Polymer Centers, saying at its Las Vegas Polymer Center alone in 2024, it produced enough recycled-content polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) plastic flake to help produce 300 million PET beverage bottles.

In a news release announcing the release of the report, Republic says it achieved a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 compared with its 2017 baseline and points to landfill gas capture and electric vehicle (EV) collection trucks as factors.

The firm launched six landfill gas-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) projects last year and by the end of 2024 had expanded its EV collection fleet to 50 trucks.

In its report, Republic says it plans to have more than 100 landfill gas-to-RNG projects in place by 2029 and that it will continue investing to expand its EV fleet.

"Our investments in Sustainability Innovation are transforming plastics circularity and advancing decarbonization solutions for customers and communities,” Republic President and CEO Jon Vander Ark says. “I’m confident about the progress we’ve made toward our 2030 sustainability goals while helping our customers achieve their own goals."