Talking Rubbish Blog

You might be interested to know that MRC has been utilising methane gas from its landfill to generate electricity since 2005.  The MRC operates the Tamala Park landfill for the disposal of household waste produced by communities of its seven Member Councils.

The MRC operates the Tamala Park landfill for the disposal of household waste produced by communities of its seven Member Councils.  It is an environmental requirement that the methane gas produced by the landfill is collected and dealt with to prevent environmental damage as a greenhouse gas.    Landfills emit both carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane and according to the Methane to Markets Landfill Subcommittee (2005), landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions.

Methane is considered to be 23 times more damaging to the atmosphere than CO².

At Tamala Park, a power generation facility was built onsite in 2005 and transmission lines and poles carry electricity back to the State electricity grid.  Currently, the power station produces sufficient energy to power and light about 4000 homes under normal conditions.

Other countries like Germany, Spain and even China are leading the way with ambitious plans for renewable energy, but Western Australia has the potential to be a world leader with vast available resources of solar, wind, wave and underground hot rocks, not to mention green power produced from landfill gas.

 Take a look at the Conservation Council of WA’s website http://ccwa.org.au/ for more information about clean renewable solutions and how you can take action.   

Western Australia is at an energy crossroads with the State Government finalising a 20-year plan to meet our energy needs.  You can take action now to tell the energy Minister to support a renewable energy future (not more polluting fossil fuels) by clicking on the following link: http://ccwa.org.au/content/strategic-energy-initiative-action/?

What do you think about renewable energy?

What other initiatives do you think would be beneficial?