News

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NRWA) has named the Cayuga Anaerobic Digester & Biogas Plant the 2025 Organics Management Facility of the Year.

The NWRA annual awards recognize work that meets local needs in innovative ways, demonstrates high standards of effective operations, expands public outreach into new areas, and implements leading-edge technology.

The recognition of the Auburn, NY-based plant comes just a month after Generate Upcycle celebrated the completion of a 3-year, $30 million investment into reviving and upgrading its operations to produce renewable natural gas (RNG).

Thanks to the improvements, the plant has more than doubled its capacity to process waste and generate renewable energy. The plant now generates 203K Gigajoules of RNG annually, avoiding the release of more than 57,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions and processes 90,000 tons of food waste.

Cayuga’s innovative depackaging system recovers 8,100 tons of cardboard, plastics, and metals annually using a custom-engineered depackaging + materials recovery facility (MRF) line—a 3,950% increase in recovered commodities compared to pre-upgrade operations.

Once waste is depackaged, biological processe converts the food waste into RNG and nitrogen-rich organic fertilizer and soil amendment.

This nutrient-rich organic soil amendment is used on more than 1,000 acres of local farmland, supporting soil structure, water retention, and nutrient uptake.

The Cayuga Digester is one of three Generate Upcycle anaerobic digester facilities in New York State, playing an integrate role in supporting compliance with New York’s Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law. Learn more about the Cayaga Anaerobic Digester & Biogas Plant at www.generateupcycle.com/cayuga.

***
Contact: Meghan Hughes, [email protected]