Popularized by movies such as “Back to the Future” and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”, the idea of transforming trash into treasure has been with us for some time. Now that technology and culture is catching up with Hollywood, more and more landfills are being capped in order to harvest waste gases for energy.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, landfills are the largest source of methane emissions (34%) in the United States. Over the next five years Waste Management Inc., the largest garbage hauler and landfill operator in North America, will spend roughly US $400 million to convert landfill gas to electricity. Instead of allowing the gas to burn off, Waste Management will use the methane to fuel onsite engines or turbines to generate electricity, which are typically generated by fossil fuels.
Waste Management operates nearly 300 landfills around the country, with over 100 of these landfills currently employing some form of methane-to-energy technology. With the addition of 60 more biogas facilities, the Houston-based company’s national initiative could generate more than 700 megawatts of clean renewable energy.
One biogas operation receiving considerable press is the BMW plant in Greer, South Carolina that receives more than 60 percent of its energy from the methane gas generated from a nearby landfill. BMW officials have said the methane used as a fuel saves the company at least $1 million a year. It also reduces emissions of greenhouse gas emissions by about 60,000 tons annually.
With over 6,000 landfills in the U.S. releasing over 65 million tons of greenhouse gases each year, there’s plenty of work to be done. Hopefully, Waste Management is setting the pace for the rest of the country and soon these harmful gases will be rerouted into energy production.
- Curtiss Martin
