Process allows landfills to produce energy and reduce greenhouse effects
Unbeknownst to many people (ourselves included), garbage dumps can be a meaningful source of alternative energy production. As the waste that is piled up in a landfill breaks down, it releases copious amounts of methane gas (whose greenhouse effect is 20 times worse than CO2). Consequently, landfill operators have begun to install pipe systems that capture these gasses in order to use them in energy production. Once captured, the methane (aka “biogas”) is burned in a traditional power generation process. Although the burning of methane releases CO2, this is substantially less harmful to the environment than the methane in its original state.
The recent surge in waste-to-energy projects stems from federal tax incentives and state laws requiring the use of certain percentages of clean energy. However, opponents complain that biogas is not actually a renewable energy source since it is derived from human excess (trash). While these critics are literally correct since human waste is not created by Mother Earth, it seems silly to denigrate attempts to turn a negative (human garbage and excess) into a positive (an energy source that reduces the greenhouse effect).
As with most forms of alternative energy production, we were not surprised to learn that this waste-to-energy process is most developed in Europe. We can only hope that the next administration and Congress will implement policies that will encourage alternative energy development. Maybe then, hearing about innovative processes like turning waste-to-energy will no longer be such a surprise to us and our readers.
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