Monday, July 13, 2009

DeKalb earns cash from landfill trash

DeKalb earns cash from landfill trash

By TY TAGAMI

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



Money may not grow on trees, but it does waft from a trash heap in DeKalb County.

This month, DeKalb is expecting a third monthly check for around $12,000 from a venture that uses new filtration technology to harvest methane from rotting garbage at the defunct Live Oak Landfill.
The partnership with the landfill owner and a developer has produced the largest “high BTU” methane-extraction plant in Georgia. The plant refines the gas to a potent commercial grade that can be piped directly to consumers.

Cash from trash. It’s an idea that would seem to fit nicely into America’s energy independence strategy, but it is not without controversy. Proponents, including the developer of this project, are pushing for federal subsidies that would treat trash gas like other “renewable” energy sources, but some environmentalists say public money should only be spent on energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal power.

AJC story

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