Local Ingenuity Puts Organic Waste to Work

Joey Cyples

Business Development Specialist, Alternative Fuels, Enbridge Gas

Transportation is Ontario’s largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to industry experts, renewable natural gas (RNG) is crucial to achieving zero-emission transit commitments. The good news is, with support from Enbridge Gas, RNG solutions that reduce emissions, divert waste and help fight climate change are already underway in companies and communities across Ontario. From farms to landfills, here are four early adopters leading the way to a low-carbon economy with RNG, clean fuel for vehicles, industry and more.

Toronto’s turning Green Bin waste into fuel for fleets

The Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility processes 55,000 tonnes of organic waste from Toronto’s Green Bin program. This waste is turned into RNG to fuel the city’s waste collection fleet, eliminating more than 9,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Heavy-duty vehicles such as waste trucks can’t be practically electrified today, so RNG offers a pragmatic solution to emissions.

Unlocking the value of organic waste in London

The StormFisher Biogas Facility in London, Ontario is converting organic waste to RNG, with capital support from Enbridge Gas to develop the project. The facility processes over 70,000 tonnes of organic waste, mostly food scraps. It also eliminates over 8,000 tonnes of GHG emissions and produces over three million cubic metres of RNG, which will be added to the natural gas system, greening the supply.

Heating homes with landfill gas in Niagara Falls

Enbridge Gas has teamed up with Walker Industries and Comcor Environmental on an innovative $42 million RNG project—Ontario’s largest—projected to be operational by 2023. The plant will capture landfill gas, cleaning and transforming it into RNG. It’s expected to generate enough clean, affordable energy to heat 8,750 homes and reduce GHGs by 48,000 tonnes every year.

Catching a carbon-negative ride in Hamilton

Transit systems play an essential role in the transition to a cleaner energy future. In Hamilton, residents can now catch a carbon-negative ride on Ontario’s first bus fuelled by RNG, sourced from the nearby StormFisher Biogas Facility. RNG buses are proven to reduce GHG emissions and divert waste from landfill, going beyond net zero to achieve carbon negativity—not even electric vehicles can achieve this.

OptUp to RNG for a toonie

The OptUp program invites households to support Ontario’s sustainable energy future. For just two dollars a month, Enbridge Gas residential customers can choose to help fund the cost of purchasing and adding RNG to the natural gas supply—the more households that sign up, the greater the environmental impact. One hundred percent of funds generated from OptUp are used to procure RNG for Ontario’s natural gas system. Enbridge Gas recently purchased RNG from StormFisher’s Biogas Facility in London, Ontario. Visit enbridgegas.com/optup to sign up.

Did you know?

Any vehicle can become carbon negative by switching to RNG. The entire RNG process—from diverting methane to displacing diesel emissions—can take total net emissions to below zero.