Food Waste Biogas Facilities Reach 404 Across 48 States

New American Biogas Council research counts 404 operating facilities that produce biogas from food waste, up 73% from last year.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Organic Food

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a single cylindrical digester tank beside a pile of produce crates on open farmland, in deep green and cream. — The American Biogas Council counted 404 operating food-waste biogas facilities across 48 states, a 73% rise from last year. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should the U.S. do more to turn discarded food into renewable energy?

The American Biogas Council released research identifying 404 operating facilities across 48 states that produce biogas from food waste. Of these, 204 use food waste alone and capture approximately 36 billion cubic feet of biogas annually.

Why it matters

The count points to a growing renewable energy pathway for food waste, which the council says could yield substantially more biogas if more of the 70 million tons of discarded U.S. food generated in 2024 were processed.

The 204 food-waste-only facilities represent nearly $3 billion in capital investment, and 38 of them upgrade biogas into renewable natural gas. The research does not specify how the facility count was verified.

The players

American Biogas Council

A U.S. trade association that promotes the development of biogas and renewable natural gas production across the country.

The details

About 200 of the facilities operate at farms and wastewater treatment plants, combining food waste with manure or wastewater. Of the 204 food-waste-only sites, 161 process pre-consumer waste, mainly from food processing and beverage manufacturing, while 43 handle retail and consumer waste, capturing about 8.2 billion cubic feet annually.

2020: 42 newer food-waste biogas facilities began coming online, now accounting for 32% of annual biogas production.
2024: The U.S. generated 70 million tons of food waste.
2025: Seven new food-waste renewable natural gas projects came online.
November 5, 2026: The American Biogas Council released its research.

Industry Trajectory

The 73% year-over-year rise in food-waste biogas facilities, as tracked by the American Biogas Council, shows the sector expanding faster than earlier counts suggested. Facilities that came online since 2020 already account for 45% of total sector investment.

Households may see food waste handled through local biogas systems rather than landfills, and the research estimates the potential biogas from all U.S. food waste could meet the annual energy needs of 1.5 million households. Realizing that figure would require processing far more of the 70 million tons generated each year.

The takeaway

Food waste is becoming a measurable energy source, and the gap between the roughly 36 billion cubic feet captured today and the 181 billion cubic feet possible suggests substantial room for growth in how discarded food is managed.