Replacing Oil

Now this is what I call completing the recycling cycle! Waste Management and Linde North America are about to create the world’s largest facility for converting stinky landfill gas into (reletively) clean burning fuel. To complete the cycle, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be used to fuel garbage collection trucks!

Waste Management trucks to run on liquified natural gas (LNG) derived from landfill gas

According to the Waste Management the project should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30,000 tons per year. When solid waste decomposes in a landfill the gas emitted (LFG) is roughly half carbon dioxide CO2 and half methane CH4. Everybody is familiar with carbon dioxide’s role in the greenhouse effect, but what many don’t realize is that methane is 20 times more effective at trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.

As the largest operator of landfills, Waste Management is in a very enviable position. Landfills are not just stinking eyesores, they’re a source of natural gas. Who would of thought that all that garbage you toss out would someday be used to fuel the garbage trucks that haul it away?

Tags: landfill gas, liquified natural gas, LNG, methane, Waste Management

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