GAS FROM TRASH

Coastal Park Landfill, South Africa: Extracting Gas from Trash

Commissioned stills photographer: News24 / Content Lounge

On the edge of paradise, surrounded by a protected marine nature reserve, lies a landfill with up to 800 trucks of general waste arriving daily. My head pounds as I climb the mountains of trash. My throat aches too, breathing in the noxious gasses.

I was expecting to leave this site feeling pure disgust but here amongst the filth, life prospers. Plants creep through, birds nest and feed their young and amongst this all, a team of dedicated scientists work daily to turn our trash into renewable energy.

50% of the gas that is released from this site is methane; a greenhouse gas that is partially responsible for global warming. This landfill has been piped with vertical and horizontal wells to suck and then pump the gas into a flaring facility where it is burnt and converted into stored electricity.

Peter Novella, Manager of Disposal for the City of Cape Town says “Essentially the train of waste coming from your home to a landfill is being used to make renewable energy, reducing the city’s reliance on fossil fuels.”