Landfill Gas Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Landfill Gas Market is projected to expand from USD 3.08 Billion in 2025 to USD 5.13 Billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 8.88%. Landfill gas creates a renewable energy opportunity as a natural byproduct of organic decomposition in waste sites, composed primarily of methane and carbon dioxide, which is captured to generate electricity or upgraded into renewable natural gas for pipelines. Key drivers supporting this industry include strict environmental regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and a growing global need for sustainable energy security, while government financial incentives like tax credits and feed-in tariffs provide the essential economic backing for infrastructure development independent of technological advancements.

Despite these positive factors, the market contends with high capital expenditures associated with the installation of necessary gas collection and purification systems. The economic viability of long-term projects is further complicated by the variability in gas flow rates and quality, particularly in regions where waste composition is inconsistent. Illustrating the established scale of the sector within major markets, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that there were 542 operational landfill gas energy projects across the United States in 2024.

Market Drivers

The escalating demand for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) in the utilities and transportation sectors is a major force driving market growth, encouraging operators to shift from basic electricity generation to higher-value gas upgrading. This transition is supported by the economic benefits of renewable energy credits and corporate mandates to source low-carbon fuels for decarbonizing heavy transport and heating networks. Evidence of this strategic shift toward pipeline-quality gas is highlighted in the '2024 Sustainability Report' by Republic Services, published in July 2025, which detailed the company's launch of six new renewable natural gas projects in 2024 to leverage these favorable market conditions.

Concurrently, the rise in global municipal solid waste generation due to urbanization is significantly increasing the potential feedstock for the industry. As urban populations expand and produce more organic waste, landfill operators are driven to implement advanced capture systems to handle the resulting emission surges and meet evolving safety regulations. The United Nations Environment Programme's 'Global Methane Status Report 2025', released in November 2025, projects a 13% increase in waste sector methane emissions by 2030, underscoring the urgent need for infrastructure expansion; reflecting this trajectory, the American Biogas Council reported that the number of operational landfill biogas facilities in the United States reached 589 in 2025.

Market Challenges

A primary obstacle to the growth of the global landfill gas market is the substantial capital expenditure required to install gas collection systems and purification facilities. Developing this infrastructure demands complex engineering for extraction wells, piping networks, and advanced processing units that scrub contaminants to meet pipeline-quality standards. This financial burden falls disproportionately on smaller landfill operators, who often lack the economies of scale necessary to justify such large upfront investments, leaving a significant portion of methane emissions uncaptured at less voluminous waste sites.

Consequently, market participation is effectively limited to large-scale entities that can absorb these heavy initial costs. The intensity of this financial requirement is reflected in recent investment data, which reveals that massive capital is needed to bring a relatively small number of facilities online. According to the American Biogas Council, the industry deployed $1.4 billion in capital investment in 2024 to launch just 24 new landfill gas projects in the United States, a figure that confirms how high average costs restrict rapid infrastructure deployment and impede the universal monetization of waste emissions.

Market Trends

A transformative trend in the market is the rise of green hydrogen production from landfill gas, allowing operators to diversify beyond traditional power generation into the high-value heavy transport fuel sector. By reforming methane into hydrogen instead of combusting it, this method provides a zero-emission solution for decarbonizing industrial sectors like manufacturing and long-haul trucking, effectively establishing a circular hydrogen economy at waste sites. Highlighting this technological advancement, H2 View reported in November 2025 that Raven SR received final approval to build a waste-to-hydrogen facility at the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill, capable of processing up to 99 tonnes of organic waste daily into transportation-grade hydrogen.

Simultaneously, the industry is seeing the accelerated adoption of advanced membrane upgrading materials designed to overcome the efficiency limitations of older pressure swing adsorption systems. These next-generation technologies offer higher methane recovery rates and greater tolerance for fluctuations in gas quality, directly addressing the operational instability that often affects smaller landfill projects. The deployment of such high-efficiency capacity was illustrated by Bioenergy Insight Magazine in November 2025, which noted that Waga Energy commissioned a new upgrading unit at the Scott Area Landfill using proprietary membrane technology, expected to produce over 205,000 MMBtu of pipeline-quality renewable natural gas annually.

Key Players Profiled in the Landfill Gas Market

• Waste Management Holdings Inc.
• Veolia Environnement S.A.
• Suez S.A.
• Aria Energy LLC
• Ameresco Inc.
• Energy Developments Pty Ltd.
• CGN Energy Services Holdings Co. Ltd.
• Kohler Co.
• ATTERO Recycling Pvt. Lyd.
• WIN Waste Innovations Holdings Inc.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Landfill Gas Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Landfill Gas Market, by Technology:

• Combustion Engine
• Turbines
• Others

Landfill Gas Market, by Application:

• Utility Flares
• Pipeline-Quality
• Process Heater
• Leachate Evaporation
• Electricity Generation

Landfill Gas Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Landfill Gas Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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