Methane? Columbus, OH might see it's garbage turned into clean energy

Columbus Dispatch -

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

At last, a waste-burning scheme that might produce some energy for central Ohio without torching the taxpayers.

Three decades after Columbus voters first heard of the seemingly swell idea of burning the city’s garbage to produce electricity, that oncepromising enterprise is just a bad memory and a $28 million debt.

This is reminiscent of what oil companies used to do with the natural gas that comes out of the ground when you drill an oil well: they used to just burn it off. Then one day some enterprising individual realized that if they bottled it they could sell it.(I like my steaks medium rare off of the grill, thank you.) To be sure, their motives were profit driven but this proves it is possible to be environmentally friendly and still make a profit. Or as is the case in this article save the taxpayers some cash. After all, there will always be garbage.