Making Energy Out of Garbage - Curbside Recycling of Organic Waste Allows Anaerobic Digesters to Transform Compost into Fuel

Curbside Recycling of Organic Garbage

So what do you get when you combine bacteria, organic waste and an air-tight container? This isn’t a bad eco-joke. It’s actually a recipe for making fuel from garbage. No kidding! Apparently we can do that now. Well, actually everyone doesn’t have the technology and infrastructure available yet, but it is certainly on the horizon. And a new law in the state of Minnesota may enable state residents to be some of the first US eco-pioneers to have curbside recycling of organic materials—such as food and yard waste—transformed into useable energy.

How To Turn Organic Waste into Stuff We Need

This large-scale composting is accomplished with the use of digesters, sealed vats that are filled with organic waste matter and the bacteria that can decompose or break the materials down. When the bacteria break down the organic waste, three products are created—methane (kind of like energy-packed flatulence that the little microbes give off when they eat things), liquid fertilizer and soil conditioner.

Waste Digesters Aren't Just for Farmers Anymore

The technology isn’t actually new; farmers have been using digesters for some time, and there are some European cities that have already taken this technology off the farm. Minneapolis, Minnesota may be the first of several US metropolitan areas to using anaerobic digestion as a potential source of energy. The twin cities’ Linden Hills Power & Light has launched a pilot project funded by grant money, and, with the help of many volunteers, they are getting the word out that organic waste pickup may be a recycling option available to area residents in the very near future.

What It Takes to Make This Free Energy Program Work

But having the state authorize the pick-up of organic waste is only the first step. There are still many hurdles, including getting the public to accept and begin participating in this type of recycling as well as finding a refuse company that will agree to haul the waste. This large-scale collection of organic waste would be necessary to provide the energy-producing materials for feeding a big anaerobic digester. Additional challenges to the Linden Hills group include finding a suitable location for the digester and getting it built. Even a ‘cheap’ digester can cost more than a million dollars. Although many obstacles must still be overcome, this eco-friendly idea is entirely possible and incredibly exciting! Imagine the freedom that could result from a local community being able to produce its own fuel from waste and the substantial benefits to the environment! Even if the ability for many communities to use this technology is still a ways in the future, curbside pickup of organic waste could substantially reduce the loads that are now being hauled into landfills, potentially shrinking the contents of a family’s trashcan by 80%.

Recycling Organic Waste Small-scale

Even if you don’t have a giant organic waste digester coming soon to your community, there are many things that an individual family can do to compost. Keep your eye on upcoming Organic Family Circle blog postings and I’ll soon provide some information on how you can easily compost your families kitchen and yard waste; reducing the amount of garbage that you generate while creating rich organic humus to supplement your garden soil.