Environmental Impacts and Benefits...

Given that all landfills generate methane, it makes sense to use the gas for the beneficial purpose of energy generation rather than emitting it to the atmosphere.The use of LFG reduces green house gas emission Methane, the main component of landfill gas, is a very potent greenhouse gas that is a key contributor to global climate change (over 21 times stronger than CO2). Methane also has a short (10-year) atmospheric life. Because methane is both potent and short-lived, reducing methane emissions from MSW landfills is one of the best ways to achieve a near-term beneficial impact in mitigating global climate change.

Reduction of Regional and local pollution

Utilizing landfill gas for electricity production reduces air pollution on the surrounding community by reducing landfill odour. The major components of landfill gas are methane and carbon dioxide. The main global environmental concern over these compounds is the fact that they are greenhouse gases

Burning LFG to produce electricity also destroys most of the non-methane organic compounds that are present at low concentrations in uncontrolled LFG, thereby reducing possible health risks from these compounds

Offsetting the use of non-renewable resources

Producing energy from LFG avoids the need to use non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, or natural gas to produce the same amount of energy. This can avoid gas end-user and power plant emissions of CO2 and criteria pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (which is a major contributor to acid rain), particulate matter (a respiratory health concern), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and trace hazardous air pollutants.

It should be noted that LFG electricity generation devices, like all combustion devices, generate some emissions of NOx, which can contribute to local smog formation. Depending on the fuels and technologies used by the power plant and the landfill project, the NOx emission reductions from the power plant may not completely offset the NOx emitted from the LFG electricity project. However, the overall environmental improvement from landfill gas electricity generation projects is significant because of the large methane reductions, hazardous air pollutant reductions, and avoidance of the use of limited non-renewable resources.