The challenge is to provide complete landfill remediation, sustainability and greenhouse gas mitigation at the lowest cost, offset by social, environmental and economic benefits. Traditional landfills are anaerobic or oxygen deprived and pose environmental risks to air, water and land through methane gas emissions, odor production and leachate generation. Anaerobic decomposition is very slow and these landfills are sometimes called garbage tombs.

 

With the GEP approach, by drilling a series of vertical wells and injecting air and moisture into the landfill, anaerobic bacteria are destroyed and replaced by aerobic bacteria which quickly decompose the organics.

The environmental benefits are immediate as methane production ceases within two to three weeks and odors are virtually eliminated. Organics are decomposed in 24 to 36 months. Over this period of time, leachate is greatly improved and reduced in volume. Compaction of the site also recaptures up to 30% of the original airspace. This process can be applied to both operating and closed landfills.

When the aerobic cycle has completed, the site can be excavated using open pit mining techniques. Composted material is removed and recyclable materials can be recovered and hazardous materials disposed of. The site can then be re-used to create a perpetual landfill or the site can be used for urban commercial or residential purposes.

The aerobic process quickly resolves more environmental issues more effectively than any other technology. Gas flaring, for example, resolves less than half of landfill methane and requires fifteen plus years to reach economic viability. GEP’s aerobic process mitigates 90% of landfill methane in two to three years.

With the GEP aerobic process:

•  Odors are eliminated
•  Greenhouse gases are mitigated and GHG credits are generated faster
•  Leachate is contained and eliminated prior to seepage
•  Air quality is improved
•  Landfill life is extended
•  Groundwater contamination is mitigated and/or remediated
•  Wastewater is processed reducing the impact on municipal treatment facilities
•  Closed landfills recovered for higher use become assets
•  New landfill approval and infrastructure requirements are eliminated
•  Existing landfill footprints are reduced
•  Post-closure maintenance is eliminated
•  Safety systems can be examined and repaired
•  Resources are recovered
•  Communities recycle their own waste
•  Compost is generated for various uses
•  Costly blue box & green box programs can be eliminated
•  Only one collection stream is required
•  Closed landfills can be remediated at minimal cost

GEP’s aerobic solution is efficient and the value of the generated carbon credits can offset the cost of installing and operating the system.

One ton of landfill waste is equal to approximately one carbon offset credit. Other methods such as gas capture and flaring and LFG energy generation fall well short of the aerobic process and generate significantly fewer credits.

Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). Carbon dioxide equivalents include methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, hydroflourocarbons and sulfur hexaflouride. The reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases equals one carbon offset.

Companies and governments buy carbon offsets to meet the requirements of carbon caps or allowable carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Approximately 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent reductions worth some $5.5 billion of carbon offsets were bought and sold on the compliance market in 2006.