2023: A Year in Review

At LoCI, we’re here to make a difference by reducing harmful emissions and increasing methane capture from landfills. In 2023, there was a step change in our industry and policies to focus on the need for methane emissions reduction, so let’s look at the year in review:

Leading the Industry in Safety

LoCI’s focus on safety remains paramount and in 2023, we implemented industry-leading programs to keep our teams and those around us safer. LoCI’s ongoing attention to safety means every member of our growing Field Service team completes advanced safety trainings. That includes certifications in CPR, First Aid, and OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard. LoCI team members across the company also took part in CPR training, enabling our staff to keep not only the LoCI team safer, but potentially help those outside the company — whether on or off a landfill.

With a constant eye on safety, LoCI also achieved a major incidence rate milestone. We continued our safety record with a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0%, ending 2023 with 2,555 consecutive days — 7 years — worked without a lost time incident. Read more about LoCI's recent safety milestones in our press release.

Supporting Our Customers

Across the municipal solid waste (MSW) industry, we had the opportunity to engage with and support new and old customers alike. With our real-time data and control system in place, the Klickitat County, WA Public Utility District’s renewable natural gas project generated record revenue for three successive months. Klickitat PUD stated our system “adjust[ed] gas quality on over 250 individual gas wells to strict specifications up to every hour, far exceeding the requirements of solid waste and air quality permits that require adjustments only once per month. This result[ed] in more gas recovery and less fugitive emissions.”

The LoCI team focuses on building strong relationships with our customers, and in September, our team members were invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Landfill Group’s new Twin Chimneys RNG facility in Honea Path, SC.

Along with our positive customer relationships throughout 2023, we heard the desire for additional information straight from the landfills, including real-time measurements for hydrogen sulfide. In the second half of the year, we implemented and announced field trials for new hydrogen sulfide sensors at interested landfills.

We’re grateful for our customer relationships and the opportunity to listen to and act on their feedback — to support landfill methane emissions capture and reduction efforts and to play a part in their continued success. From the entire LoCI team, thank you.

Measuring Emissions & Impacting Policies

There’s no doubt that 2023 put a spotlight — both nationwide and globally — on the impact of methane emissions and with it, the need to accurately measure those emissions. In November, LoCI gave a joint presentation with the U.S. EPA Office of R&D to discuss the development of a real-time 24/7/365 Emissions Measurement Platform and announce preliminary findings.

In addition to the nationwide focus on measurement and reduction, some states have undertaken statewide methane emission reduction efforts. Oregon and Washington have followed California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a policy aimed at reducing methane emissions and decreasing the carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuel — creating more low-carbon and renewable alternatives to reduce petroleum dependency and achieve air quality benefits. In 2023, LoCI began its first project at which we anticipate leveraging the LCFS, at Yolo County Central Landfill (YCCL). Read more about LoCI's project with Yolo County in our press release.

2023 & Going Forward

2023 was a big year when it came to the shifting — and increasing — focus on landfill methane emissions. At the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, methane emissions took center stage as regulators called for preventing 58 million tons of these emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2038.

We’re looking forward to the progress to come in 2024 and beyond and the part we can play in impacting change.