Zero Waste Energy, LLC3470 Mt. Diablo Blvd. , Suite A215, Lafayette,, California, United States

Our Company's Mission: To design, build, and operate advanced solid waste processing facilities that optimize resource recovery and the generation of renewable energy in an efficient and environmentally sound manner.

Zero Waste Energy’s team members have been closely involved in the design, development and operation of Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) for processing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) since the introduction of MRFs in the mid-1980s. They understand how fully automated MSW Sorting Systems can provide a significant enhancement to traditional MRF operations by processing material that is typically bound for a landfill. It is estimated that as much as 30-40% of most municipal solid waste streams is potentially recoverable in the form of paper, plastics, wood, and metal, as well as an additional 35-40% in the form of organic materials.

Comprehensive mixed solid waste processing systems employ sophisticated front-end sorting technology to recover commodities with value for resale or reuse. The remaining waste stream can be automatically segregated to isolate organics, providing feedstock for an anaerobic digestion system. A comprehensive waste processing system creates value by recovering additional commodities for sale, saving disposal and transportation costs, and preparing the organic fraction for use in an energy recovery process.

Our Projects

Under a long-term agreement, Zero Waste Energy (ZWE) partnered with Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) to design and build the first U.S. based anaerobic digestion (AD) SMARTFERM plant.  ZWE operates the facility, which includes four AD digesters used to convert up to 5,000 tons per year (TPY) of organic waste into biogas that will provide power and heat for MRWMD’s use and be sold to the neighboring Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency.  The SMARTFERM will also provide high-quality compost to local farms.

Operations began in February 2013 and include:

• 4 x 40′ dry anaerobic digesters
• Up to 5,000 tons per year of organic waste throughput
• Containerized 100 kW combined heat & power system
• Package bio-filter and roof mounted external biogas storage bladder
• Separate enclosed and negatively aerated receiving bay
• 21-day batch process transforms waste into biogas and high quality digestate  for compost