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Trash lights 1000 houses

| 13 Feb 2012 | 02:44
    The things that look like keg handles are the heads of methane collecting wells.
    The things that look like keg handles are the heads of methane collecting wells.
    Electronics for recycling. &quot;There are a lot of gypsies in the e-waste industry,&quot; said Renee Casapulla. &quot;A resident gives you something and you want to do the right thing, but it's hard to get that assurance.&quot;
    Electronics for recycling. "There are a lot of gypsies in the e-waste industry," said Renee Casapulla. "A resident gives you something and you want to do the right thing, but it's hard to get that assurance."
    Tires for recycling. Everything that can be separated out of landfill garbage saves landfill space. And landfill space = money.
    Tires for recycling. Everything that can be separated out of landfill garbage saves landfill space. And landfill space = money.
    Brass and copper are so valuable that a security camera monitors this bin.
    Brass and copper are so valuable that a security camera monitors this bin.
    The Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority newly recycles rigid plastic, like old laundry baskets.
    The Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority newly recycles rigid plastic, like old laundry baskets.
    Plastic bottles. &quot;There was a time when you might have questioned&quot; whether your recyclables actually ended up getting recycled, said Reenee Casapulla, &quot;but now everything is worth something.&quot; Even the value of mixed paper is going up.
    Plastic bottles. "There was a time when you might have questioned" whether your recyclables actually ended up getting recycled, said Reenee Casapulla, "but now everything is worth something." Even the value of mixed paper is going up.
    Reenee Casapulla and Tom Varro in front of the $1 million flare that burned off methane before the landfill-to-energy plant.
    Reenee Casapulla and Tom Varro in front of the $1 million flare that burned off methane before the landfill-to-energy plant.
    The landfill gas-to-energy plant sounds like the inside of a blender.
    The landfill gas-to-energy plant sounds like the inside of a blender.
    Two Caterpillar engines turn methane into electricity, which is then sold into the grid.
    Two Caterpillar engines turn methane into electricity, which is then sold into the grid.
    Pipes deliver methane to the plant. Other gases, like carbon dioxide, are burned off by the flare.
    Pipes deliver methane to the plant. Other gases, like carbon dioxide, are burned off by the flare.
    Earplugs are a good idea when touring the plant.
    Earplugs are a good idea when touring the plant.
    SCMUA recycled almost 270 tons of e-waste in 2010, up from 4.37 tons in 2002.
    SCMUA recycled almost 270 tons of e-waste in 2010, up from 4.37 tons in 2002.
    44 wells collect the methane that gets turned into electricity.
    44 wells collect the methane that gets turned into electricity.

Thousands of gulls circle the fresh trash that’s just been dropped by a caravan of garbage trucks at the Sussex County landfill in Lafayette. Few birds bother to investigate the highest plateau of this manmade mountain. This is the old part of the landfill, which has been filled with garbage and entombed in a four-ply lining. But just because all’s quiet up here, make no mistake: this mountain is still digesting.

The disintegrating garbage is going through its anaerobic phase, producing methane and carbon dioxide. Methane, when it escapes, is the most harmful of the greenhouse gases a landfill produces. But when it’s captured, methane can turn turbines that make electricity – and money.

Collecting methane is not a new practice for the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. They’ve been doing it in some form or another since 1996. (After all, points out Chief Engineer Tom Varro, the utilities workers are the ones working there, breathing the air.) The gas used to be piped to a $1 million flare that burned off 99 percent of the contaminants. Then better technology came along.

In June 2011, a company called Energenic, in partnership with the municipal authority, opened a power generating station that runs on the dump’s methane.

The fact that your food scraps could power your electric car reminds Varro of his favorite movie. “It’s kind of like Back to the Future. Shove a banana peel in car: “1.21 gigawatts!” Varro says, imitating Doc Brown.

After driving me around the landfill, Varro and Recycling Coordinator Reenee Casapulla knock on the door of a trailer. Duane Nelson, the garbage-to-energy plant’s lead operator, invites us into his office.

Nelson wears earplugs on a string around his neck. When he takes us next door, their purpose is clear. The generating station sounds like the inside of a blender. Here, in a room with panels upon panels of switches and controls, the methane goes through a compressor and then two Caterpillar generators turn it into electricity that is fed into the grid. Energenic and the municipal authority split the profits.

The plant is operating at half capacity, throwing off enough electricity to power 1,000 houses. As the 54-acre landfill grows it’ll produce more gas. Production will hit its peak around 2018, when the landfill fills up.