Waste Management provides energy to 1,000,000 homes in the US, through just the landfill gas projects they provide energy to power 400,000 US homes, this is greater then the entire solar industry alone. Biodegradable plastic adds to these numbers by utilizing Biosphere’s unique design and compound your products will help power homes across the US and around the world.
Interviewer: “First of all, give me your name and your title. ”
Paul Pabor: “My name is Paul Pabor. I’m the vice president of renewable energy of Waste Management.”
Interviewer: “And what do you do?”
Paul Pabor: “We produce energy.”
Imagine if apples can power a house. Imagine if leaves could run a factory.
Creating renewable energy, reducing fossil fuels, and lowering emissions- that’s what Waste Management is doing today.
You may not know it, but we produce more electricity than the entire solar industry in the US. Some of this energy comes from our landfills, where we’re using ordinary waste to help power communities nearby.
The process we use to make electricity from landfills is called Landfill-Gas-to-Energy. Think of it working like a circle. Everyday, we collect materials from homes and business. When items cannot be recycled, they typically go to a landfill, where they are contained within an engineered area that is lined to protect the environment. As biodegradable items decompose inside the landfill, they create a gas. This gas is collected using wells. The gas then passes through several machines that filter and pressurize it until it can be used as a fuel. From there, the gas is piped to a plant where it powers generators. Electricity produced by these generators is sent to a utility grid, which then provide energy to communities nearby. So, there you have it. A perfect circle- Landfill-Gas-to-Energy.
In Georgia, our landfills produce enough electricity to power 3,500 homes. In Texas, we generate enough for 37,000. In Pennsylvania, enough for nearly 65,000. Add our projects up, and we create enough energy from landfills to power over 400,000 homes, which is equivalent to displacing 7 million barrels of oil.
Paul Pabor (Vice President of Renewable Energy):
“Our power plants supply electricity to thousands of homes. Depending on where you live, when you turn on a light switch, that electricity may be coming from the organic waste that you threw away.”
We also sell renewable gas. Many companies today use natural gas, or processed gas, to power their operations. For these customers, landfill gas may serve as a cleaner, or economic substitute. This is why we sell our gas directly. One example is the University of New Hampshire. Currently, the school is meeting 85% of its energy needs from an on-campus power plant where are mostly of from landfill gas. Because of this project, the campus has lowered its fossil fuel use.
Mark Huddleston (President, University of New Hampshire):
“It makes UNH the first university in America to use landfill gas to power its energy needs. And, it’s a wonderful project, because it’s one of the few that makes both perfect economic sense, as well as environmental sense. It reduces our dependence on fossil fuels that also helps stabilize our energy cost, and, indeed, gives us an opportunity to invest money in other alternative energy projects.”
Paul Pabor (Vice President of Renewable Energy):
“We’ve been successful on the renewable energy business for many years. Because of our experience, we’re making landfills a renewable energy resource that’s good for the communities and good for the environment.”
Other landfill gas facts:
The EPA has endorsed it as an alternative energy source.
The price is stable.
It does not rely on sunlight, wind or water.
Energy production is reliable.
Combined with our other energy projects, Waste Management creates enough power for over 1 million homes. By 2020, we will double that to 2 million homes. And one more thing, we don’t just construct power plants for ourselves. We build energy projects for others.
Every year, Waste Management helps municipalities and companies make landfills part of their energy solution. We work with our customers every step of the way. Providing leadership during planning, construction, energy marketing and operation. We’ll help you achieve your green goals. So, there you have it. From apple to light bulb, and leaf to electricity. We get the most out of what you throw away. It’s time to expand the way you think about energy. There’s opportunity to grow.
For more information, go to wm.com.
