The city leaders in Georgia with an industrial partner have transformed a environmentally hazardous trash pit into a stream for revenue and renewable energy.
As trash decomposes, it leaks methane into the air, a greenhouse gas that's 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
The LaGrange landfill in west Georgia was made into a revenue-generating venture in 2001 when carpet manufacturer Interface, searching for an alternative fuel source for its petroleum-intensive manufacturing process, contacted LaGrange officials about converting the landfill into a clean, cheap way to conserve energy.
LaGrange eventually decided to invest the $2 million needed to outfit the landfill with a processor and miles of pipeline. Owing to a 10-year contract with Interface and another manufacturer that use the gas, LaGrange has generated $300,000 in revenue from gas sales in the first year and the city expects to turn a profit in just 5 years.
The economics of conversion of landfill to methane often don't work for smaller sites. The EPA's landfill methane outreach program has 400 projects designed to promote landfill gas as an alternative energy source. But it's no easy task with the LaGrange venture being a model where an industrial partner spearheaded the project and the city leadership showed willingness to shoulder the immediate expenses.
Cleaner alternative sources of energy can be scarce or expensive but landfills, which dot big cities and rural towns alike, offer an overlooked supply that's not subject to import taxes, is very reliable and is not coming from another country!
Picture Courtesy: www.flickr.com
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