No one thinks about what happens to our garbage after it’s picked up from our homes. Where does it go? Does it just get thrown into another pile forever? Is it used for anything? Those aren’t typically questions we ask ourselves. 

But Murray City Power did ask those questions, and they wondered what could be done with all the garbage collected every week. And they found an answer. Murray City Power is part owner of the Trans-Jordan Landfill, and they turn our trash into methane gas, which is then used as energy. 

Methane is an ozone depleting gas that is a natural byproduct of rotting garbage. It’s a combustible gas that is usually flared or burned by most landfills. 

“The gas is much more potent than CO2 and if not captured is harmful to the environment,” said Matt Young, assistant director of Murray Power. “This landfill gas plant has a much higher capacity factor than other renewable energy resources. This means it is able to generate electricity 24/7 instead of intermittently like many renewable resources.” 

So, when given the opportunity to clean up the environment, as well as get an electrical byproduct from it, Murray Power jumped on it. 

Murray City Power has been using methane produced energy since 2007 and plans to continue doing so for at least another decade. So how does it work? 

“Garbage is delivered to the landfill and piled in huge heaps that are hundreds of yards long and tens of yards deep,” Young said. “The deepening garbage is eventually buried.  Through years of decomposition, the resultant methane gas is captured through pipes that crisscross the garbage mounds.”

He said the collected gas is cleaned and used as fuel in several on-site Caterpillar engines and generators transmit that power to Murray City by power lines. That power is then used in homes and businesses. 

About 7% of the energy Murray City Power uses comes from the landfill methane technology. It’s estimated that it takes about 1.2 million tons of trash to produce 1 megawatt of energy. A landfill methane plant, like the Salt Lake County Landfill Facility, can annually offset 15 gallons of gasoline, provide power to 1,900 homes and reduce the equivalent emissions of 2,900 vehicles. 

So, the next time you flip a light switch, remember that it might be coming from yesterday’s lunch wrappers. λ