Chris Rodinis

http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/landfill-provides-free-electricity-130328.htm

How about free electricity? Who can argue with that? Free electricity is almost as good as free money.

How does one get free electricity? Well apparently if you live in the Philippines its possible, but only if you are very near a garbage dump!

The Philippines is a country of many small islands and currently with a big and growing population, garbage dumps are getting a lot of attention because the “waste is growing out of control”

This problem of waste growing exponentially is being tackled by a United Nations’ project that helps landfills convert their methane gas to electricity. They call this clean energy and it can successfully combat climate change.

So if you live at the base of a Manila landfill you can use all the free electricity you want. If living near a dump has pros and cons, free electricity is definitely a pro.

Helps Stop Global Warming

Converting methane to energy is not a new idea at all. The principle is easy to understand. Furthermore, converting the methane to power keeps it from going into the atmosphere, thus avoiding the global warming effect. Also, those that would be using power from the grid would no longer need that supply, thus it saves energy on the grid too.

Describing the methane conversion operation is easy. Big heavy duty pipes are laid into the landfill by engineers. A power station is constructed at the bottom of the landfill. The methane is drawn into the power station below and then from there it flows into generators to create electricity.

In the case of one Manilla landfill, residents, mostly housewives from the slum community, were given no cost access to the electricity from the landfill. There is a hall that was built for the purpose of putting the free electricity to use and as suspected it has been a big hit with residents.

“It really helps because it cuts down on our electricity bills… sometimes we use the savings to buy food,” one resident housewife said, whose husband earns the equivalent of about $200 a month working as a security guard at the dumpsite.”

Lucky for the the energy company known as “Pangea Green Energy Philippines,’’ since it was awarded this project, it has made thousands of dollars and can afford to give some of it away for free.

“Under the UN programme, industrialised countries can meet their Kyoto Protocol commitments to cut greenhouse gas output by funding projects that reduce emissions in developing nations such as the Philippines.”

Trading Carbon Credits

In developing countries, private companies earn credit for reducing their emissions. One credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide.

“The credits are then sold to companies, institutions or governments in industrialised countries to offset their emissions.”

“Thousands of renewable energy projects in developing countries have been registered under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism since it began in 2005, including wind farms, solar stations and hydropower dams.”

The savings of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is equal to taking 18,000 cars off the road. There is also less air pollution for those who live near the site. Plus there is less chance methane will leak into the groundwater supply.

“Nevertheless, Greenpeace and some other environment groups oppose waste-to-energy projects, arguing their green credentials are often exaggerated and that they create a financial incentive for more rubbish to be dumped.”

“The only way to address the issue of methane generation from waste is to stop the rubbish going to the landfill in the first place,” Greenpeace stated.

For more information on recycling or recycling used electrical devices, please visit:  www.EwasteWiz.com