Isn’t methane, a “greenhouse gas”, produced when biodegradation occurs in a landfill? Isn’t it bad for the environment?
Methane is a greenhouse gas; however, it is also a viable energy source. Most landfills today are managed to promote and accelerate the generation of greenhouse gases; so, they can be captured for destruction &/or energy recovery, as well as free up landfill space. Some of the successes of the EPA’s LMOP (Landfill Outreach Program) are offsetting the use of nonrenewable resources and improving air quality by controlling the emissions from landfills. The 13 billion kilowatt-hours of generation electricity reported for 2009 equates to the green house gas emissions from more than 17 million cars annually.
