BENNINGTON, Neb. (KMTV) — Waste Management says a new facility at Pheasant Point Landfill will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50,000 tons and provide renewable energy. It is expected to be operational by 2025.
- The facility will provide enough energy to power about 860 waste trucks or 20,000 homes.
- How does it work? Waste decomposes, then methane and Co2 are funneled into a local refining process.
- Waste Management is investing over $1.4 billion in renewable energy across the country from 2022-2026.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Investing in the future. At the Pheasant Point Landfill, Waste Management is breaking ground on a new renewable natural gas (RNG) facility that they say will help reduce greenhouse gases, benefiting the community and environment.
Waste Management (WM) says this new facility will help cut approximately 50,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year from this landfill.
It’ll provide enough energy to power about 860 waste trucks or 20,000 homes.
"We're able to burn the, the renewable natural gas. It's, it burns about 86-87% cleaner than just pure diesel. And so that's, you know, we're going out into the communities and our trucks are producing that much less emissions,” said Brad Pollock, WM heartland area vice president.
So how does it work?
As waste decomposes, a collection system funnels methane and Co2 into a local refining process.
"So we drill holes, wells just like a water well, but it's a gas well. We drill them all over the landfill. If you look behind, you can see it,” said Pollock. “You can see those are the gas wells."
The final product is used in Waste Management's trucks and the rest is sold on the market.
We asked if customers included local utilities -- Waste Management officials wouldn't say.
Douglas County Commissioner Mike Friend says it's an effort to provide another option for supplemental energy, comparing it to windmills and solar power
"So you're talking about an innovative approach to dealing with the waste that comes from Douglas County or maybe other jurisdictions,” said Friend.
This project is just one of 20 Waste Management is building across the country. It says it is investing more than $1.4 billion in renewable energy from 2022-2026.
"This is our commitment to say, well, there's stuff that we can do with the gas. It can power our trucks, it can power homes,” said Pollock.
This will be the seventh RNG facility in the Midwest.
The facility is expected to be operational in late 2025.
