Waste Management, which provides residential and commercial trash collection and recycling services across Texas and the southern United States, issued a press release on Wednesday afternoon announcing the opening of a $50 million renewable natural gas facility at the Temple landfill.
Temple Mayor Tim Davis addressed the project, saying it was an important one for the community and he praised city staff for their efforts in bringing it to fruition.
According to the Waste Management press release, the Temple facility will generate about 750,000 MMBtu per year of renewable natural gas, which could fuel up to 650 heavy duty vehicles per day.
The new facility is part of Waste Management’s broader efforts at renewable natural gas generation. They are expected to invest as much as $1.6 billion nationwide toward those efforts by the end of 2026. The company plans to open 20 additional renewable natural gas facilities by the end of next year.
Davis said city staff members looked carefully at the Waste Management proposal, and determined that the benefits to the city justified the new facility.
“The landfill generates substantial amounts of methane gas,” Davis told the Telegram Wednesday. “At a certain level, and current technologies, companies like WM are able to capture the methane and convert it to renewable natural gas. When they approached the city about the project, we were able to determine that it was financially viable to the city and the community.”
Tim Davis
Wes Albanese
Davis explained the financial benefit.
“The city receives a payment from the company for their use of the landfill facility,” Davis said. “That payment isn’t substantial, but it does make it worth our while to be supportive. It’s money coming in that doesn’t have to come from taxpayers.”
Davis added that while the facility might not generate a substantial number of new jobs, it would generate some work opportunities for members of the community.
“The number of new jobs may not seem like a lot, but for the guy who got the job, it’s a lot,” Davis said, noting the number of jobs is not certain at this point.
Waste Management will host an open house for the facility on May 8 at the landfill in Temple. The open house starts at 9:30 a.m. and will include interviews and facility tours, a facility tour and a ribbon cutting.
Waste Management officials said there would be company personnel on hand to speak regarding the positive impact of the new facility on the community. Temple Mayor pro tem Jessica Walker is also expected to be on hand with other city officials who will be available to answer questions.
Davis said he was proud of city staff for vetting the project and giving city council members the information they needed to make the right decision.
“City employees had the foresight to say, ‘Yes,’ and to present the information that council members needed. The project makes good sense for the community,” Davis added.
A media representative for Waste Management, when contacted, did not provide additional information than what was in the news release. The contact said company officials would answer questions and provide more information at the open house.