Dairy Producer to Convert 250,000 Gallons of Daily Waste Into Biogas

Industry Pulse News Desk · 2026-10-23

A major yogurt maker has partnered with PurposeEnergy to process industrial wastewater into renewable fuel as high-protein food production expands.

The manufacturer of Oikos yogurt has entered into a partnership with energy solutions provider PurposeEnergy to convert up to 250,000 gallons of daily dairy byproduct into renewable biogas. The project aims to significantly reduce reliance on conventional natural gas as production of protein-rich yogurt scales up.

The facility will utilize anaerobic digestion technology to process organic wastewater and residual byproducts generated during the manufacturing process. The resulting biogas will be captured and utilized to supply thermal energy back into the plant, offsetting standard fossil fuel consumption.

Waste management has emerged as a key operational hurdle for dairy processors navigating elevated consumer demand for high-protein foods. Greek yogurt manufacturing generates substantial volumes of liquid whey, an organic byproduct that requires specialized treatment to prevent environmental strain.

Under the agreement, PurposeEnergy will build and manage the processing infrastructure designed to handle the daily waste volume. The treatment system will also remove organic contaminants from the wastewater stream prior to discharge into local municipal infrastructure.

The project reflects growing commercial adoption of waste-to-energy technologies across the food processing sector to stabilize operational overhead and lower carbon intensity. Operations at the new processing plant are slated to begin following final regulatory approvals.