Profit from Landfill Waste

URL:  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2011/...

 

 

Down and Dirty: Generating Profit from Landfill Waste
Humans generate tons – billions of tons – of waste each year. At over 2.1 billion tons of municipal waste annually, the world has a significant waste problem. Most of this waste is transported to landfills, where it sits, decays, and releases a suite of environmental pollutants. But there is a better way to control and reuse this waste –converting it into energy.

Locked inside the 2.1 billion tons of municipal waste that we generate each year is approximately 24.5 quadrillion Btu of energy – enough heat to meet about 10% of global annual electricity consumption. Not surprisingly, many nations including Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia, have been adding to or gearing up waste to energy operations for over a decade.