Landfill gas: from harmful emission to reliable energy source

Landfill gas produced from solid waste landfills is one of the most significant sources of anthropogenic methane in Canada. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is 24.5 times more powerful than carbon dioxide by weight in terms of global climate change. Landfill gas recovery plays an important role in Canada's commitment to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Landfill gas is a potentially harmful emission that can be converted into a reliable environmentally-sustainable energy source used to generate electricity, fuel industries and heat buildings. The recovery and utilisation of landfill gas is a win-win situation which makes good sense from local, regional and global perspectives. It provides the benefits of 1) reducing the release of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming; 2) limiting odours, 3) controlling damage to vegetation, 4) reducing risks from explosions, fires and asphyxiation; 5) converting a harmful emission into a reliable energy source; and 6) creating a potential source of revenue and profit. (Author)