City offers free composting services to Houstonians looking to reduce landfill contributions

do your part

Looking to start composting? This is your month to try it out with free drop-off spots in Houston. Photo via Getty Images

The City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department is launching a free Food Waste Drop-Off pilot program through the end of February.

The program is in collaboration with Council Member Sallie Alcorn, Zero Waste Houston and the City of Houston Health Department, and allows residents to drop off food scraps at four different locations. The locations are:

Kashmere Multi-Service Center, Mondays from 2 to 5 pm
Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, Tuesdays from 2 to 5 pm
Alief Neighborhood Center, Wednesdays from 4 to 7 pm
Sunnyside Multi-Service Center, Thursdays from 3 to 6 pm

Houston residents, businesses, and institutions generate 6.2 million tons of municipal solid waste per year according to the Solid Waste Department program.

“You’ll find when you start composting your food scraps, there is a lot less trash generated in your home, at your curb, and taken to the landfill,” Alcorn says in a news release.

The Solid Waste Management Department provides solid waste services with the collection, disposal, and recycling of discarded material in an environmentally-friendly and cost effective way.

“The Solid Waste Department is eager to continue to provide innovative programs that divert waste from the landfill and actively engage Houston residents,” says Mark Wilfalk, Director of Solid Waste Management in the release.

Houston Methodist has several ongoing and future initiatives dedicated to reducing the hospital system's carbon footprint. Photo via HoustonMethodist.org

How this Houston hospital is leading sustainable health care

seeing green

The United States health care sector contributes around 8.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and one Houston hospital is committed to doing its part in reducing the industry's carbon footprint.

Houston Methodist, which recently opened a new tech hub in the Ion in midtown, has put in place several initiatives that reflect a more sustainable future for health care. The organization, which has seven hospitals in the Houston area, revealed some of these ongoing and planned projects at a recent event.

"Houston Methodist is always looking ahead on ways — not only of how we are taking care of patients — but what are we doing to create this environment and making the right efforts for sustainability, which we should all be doing," Michelle Stansbury, vice president of innovation and IT applications at Houston Methodist, says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We have to protect this environment that we have or it may not be the same for our children going forward."

The hospital system is currently in the design phase for installing solar panels on the Josie Roberts Administration Building in the Texas Medical Center. This project, in partnership with Houston Methodist's Energy and Facilities workgroup, will be the first step toward renewable energy consumption for the hospital.

Houston Methodist has already rolled out food composting initiatives at its locations in Sugar Land, The Woodlands, and Willowbrook locations — with plans for additional campuses to follow. According to a presentation from Jason Fischer, director of the Office of Sustainability at Methodist, the hospital system has already diverted nearly 100,000 lbs. of food waste from landfills.

Preventing waste recycling or reusing items is another focus of Houston Methodist, Stansbury says, from creating a workflow that enables reusing items that are able to be sanitized rather than thrown away to sustainably getting rid of expired materials. The U.S. has rules about the shelf lives of health care products, but other countries don't have as strict of mandates.

"We're sending (supplies) to other countries that can still use these products," Stansbury explains. "Knowing that we're helping to care for other individuals, to me I think it's very valuable. Other countries don't have the resources that the United States does."

Another notable initiative is incorporating greenspace for patients to enjoy. Houston Methodist is currently in construction on a 26-story hospital tower in the Texas Medical Center that will feature the Centennial Rooftop Garden on the 14th floor.

The Houston Methodist's sustainability team has several other initiatives both ongoing and in the works. More information is available on the hospital's website.

Centennial Tower’s 14th floor will feature an outdoor rooftop garden. Rendering courtesy of Houston Methodist

By opting into composting, Moonshot customers are avoiding contributing to landfill methane emissions. Photo via Moonshot Compost/Facebook

Houston sustainability startup increases Texas impact, diverts 3.5M lbs of landfill waste

the power of composting

Houston-based Moonshot Compost is marking its three-year anniversary this month, demonstrating a successful execution of a sustainable waste management model.

Chris Wood and Joe Villa started the company in July 2020, collecting and measuring food waste in their personal vehicles. Today, Moonshot operates with a team of drivers utilizing its data platform to quantify the environmental benefits of composting.

“People like to compost with us,” Wood said. “When we first started, I don't think we ever thought we would get to so much weight so quickly. We've diverted over 3.5 million pounds of food waste since we launched, and our rate of collection is about 250,000 pounds a month now.”

Moonshot ensures every collection is weighed to calculate its precise impact. Its proprietary system uses QR codes, allowing users to understand both their individual and collective contribution to the composting effort.

Despite starting in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the service has solidly grown. Currently, Moonshot serves 65 commercial and over 600 residential subscribers across Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Waco.

One of Moonshots significant achievements is its Diversion Dashboard, which presents the climate equivalencies of the diverted food waste, highlighting how composting contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases.

"By composting, you're avoiding landfill methane emissions, which constitute 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions," Wood said.

Moonshot offers subscription programs for both residential and commercial clients. The residential subscription includes a drop-off option for $10 per month or an at-home pick-up service for $29 per month. Each pick-up includes a clean bin exchange. For commercial clients, the base fee is $110 per month, with weekly pick-ups and bin exchanges.

The company's next significant milestone, Wood said, is to divert 5 million pounds of food waste in Houston. As of now, Moonshot expects to reach its 5 million pound goal by mid-2024.

“We think that Houston is sending 5 million pounds of food waste to the landfill every day,” Wood said. “Once we've diverted 5 million pounds in Houston, that'll be the first time that we've diverted a day's worth of food waste in Houston.”

As part of Moonshots most recent compost result update, Moonshot subscribers based in Houston have diverted 3,444,704 pounds of waste from landfills and saved 2,328,366 pounds of carbon dioxide. Visit here for more information on its impact across Austin, Dallas and Houston.

Wood emphasized the importance of changing perceptions on composting: "It’s not disgusting. You already generate food waste at home and work. Composting makes your trash cleaner."

With this mission, Moonshot Compost continues to transform perceptions and practices around waste management and sustainability.

Chris Wood and Joe Villa started the company in July 2020. Photo via Moonshot Compost/Facebook

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Shell partners with UK-based co. for hydrogen electrolyzer pilot

ultra-efficient electrolyzer

Shell Global Solutions International, a subsidiary of Shell, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Houston, has signed a collaboration agreement with London-based Supercritical Solutions to advance Supercritical’s ultra-efficient hydrogen electrolyzer technology toward a field pilot demonstration.

In the deal, the companies will collaborate on a paid technology feasibility study that will support the evaluation and planning of the pilot demonstration, according to a news release. Supercritical Solutions’ technology aims to deliver high-efficiency renewable hydrogen at a lower cost for the industrial hydrogen market.

"Signing this collaboration agreement with Shell is a major milestone for Supercritical Solutions and an important step on our commercialisation journey,” Luke Tan, co-founder of Supercritical, said in the news release. “We are directly addressing the cost and complexity barriers facing the renewable hydrogen market. We are excited to move forward with a company like Shell, whose global leadership has been proven to accelerate innovative technologies to market.”

Supercritical’s hydrogen electrolyser technology can operate at high temperatures and pressures of up to 220 bar without the need for an external hydrogen compressor, rare-earth materials or easily degradable membranes. The technology removes the typical compression step in the process while delivering hydrogen at industry standards. It requires significantly less energy than many traditional electrolyzers and is more cost-efficient.

This recent investment builds on an ongoing relationship between Shell and Supercritical. Supercritical was founded in 2020 and was runner-up in Shell’s New Energy Challenge, which helps startups and scaleups develop sustainable technologies, in 2021. Shell Ventures then invested in Supercritical’s Series A funding round in 2024 with Toyota Ventures.

3 Houston-area companies named to Global Cleantech 100

Energized

Three Houston-area companies—Amperon, Hertha Metals and Vaulted Deep—appear on this year’s Global Cleantech 100 list.

The unranked list, generated by market intelligence and advisory firm Cleantech Group, identifies the 100 privately held companies around the world that are most likely to make a significant impact in the cleantech market over the next five to 10 years.

For the 2026 list, Cleantech Group received more than 24,000 Global Cleantech 100 nominations from nearly 60 countries. Cleantech Group scored those companies and narrowed the contenders to 264. An expert panel reviewed those nominees, and the list was whittled down to the 100 winners.

Here’s a rundown of the three Houston-area honorees:

Amperon

Founded in 2018 by Sean Kelly and Abe Stanway, Houston-based Amperon offers an AI-enabled energy forecasting and analytics platform designed to help stabilize electric grids. Amperon received undisclosed amounts of venture capital from National Grid Partners and Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. last year and announced a recent investment from Samsung Ventures earlier this month.

Hertha Metals

Founded in 2022 by Laureen Meroueh, Conroe-based Hertha Metals provides a single-step process for producing sustainable steel. Last year, the company emerged from stealth mode and raised more than $17 million in venture capital.

Vaulted Deep

Vaulted Deep’s technology injects excess organic waste underground to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Julia Reichelstein and Omar Abou-Sayed founded the Houston-based company in 2023. Last year, the startup raised $32.3 million in venture capital. Also in 2025, Vaulted Deep signed a 12-year deal with software giant Microsoft to remove up to 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.

Vaulted Deep also made the list last year, along with Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics and Fervo Energy. Fervo was also named the 2025 North American Company of the Year by Cleantech Group.

Houston AI energy forecasting company lands investment from Samsung Ventures

funding for forecasts

Amperon, a Houston-based AI-powered forecasting solutions company, has received an investment for an undisclosed amount from Samsung Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Samsung Group.

According to Amperon, the funding will be put toward the company's global growth and next-generation product development. Samsung Ventures invests in emerging businesses developing technologies for the AI, advanced devices and energy-related sectors.

“Samsung Ventures’ investment is a strong validation of our mission to transform the way energy is forecasted and traded,” Sean Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Amperon, said in a news release. “Samsung’s global footprint and leadership in semiconductors, data infrastructure, and AI acceleration make them a natural fit as we expand Amperon’s reach into energy-intensive sectors like data centers. Their track record of scaling next-generation technologies aligns perfectly with our vision to build a more intelligent, resilient, and data-driven energy system.”

Amperon was founded in 2018. Its AI models combine real-time weather, consumption and market data for energy retailers, utilities and independent power producers.

Last year, the company launched its weather-informed grid demand Mid-Term Forecast (MTF), which provides users with data on electricity demand up to seven months in advance. It also secured strategic investments from Acario, the corporate venture capital and innovation division of Tokyo Gas, as well as National Grid Partners, the venture investment and innovation arm of National Grid (NYSE: NGG).

After expanding into Europe in 2024, the company has continued to see international growth, and currently operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

“Amperon has demonstrated strong technical capabilities and global traction in a rapidly evolving energy landscape,” a spokesperson for Samsung Ventures added in the release. “Their ability to forecast and model real-time energy data at global scale positions them as a key enabler of smarter energy systems and climate resilience. We are pleased to invest in a company developing technologies that support a more sustainable and digitized world.”

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