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Leon County is turning its landfill gases into cold, hard cash.
Last week, county commissioners voted to put carbon credits the county earns for destroying methane gas on a specialized market, where they can be sold to companies that produce greenhouse gases. The companies would buy the credits to help meet future federal greenhouse-gas standards, said Norm Thomas, director of the county’s solid-waste operations.
The money is expected to generate more than $50,000 a year for the county or more than a million dollars over 20 years.
The county in 2007 completed a collection system for landfill gases at the landfill on U.S. 27 south. The gases travel through underground pipes to a flare, which burns them off.
The system was built to get rid of odors, which nearby residents were complaining about. County officials decided to pursue the credits as a source of money after the specialized markets were created.
Commissioner Cliff Thaell said the idea is to open up a market around the destruction of harmful greenhouse gases. Doing so provides an incentive for industries and entities to capture and “sell” their greenhouse gases.
“That’s the whole concept,” Thaell said. “It doesn’t allow any corporation to pollute one more iota than they already are.”
The credits will be sold through the Climate Action Reserve, one of agencies that oversees the buying and selling of carbon credits.
Thomas said it will take between three and six months for the county to start participating in the market.
“I’m just delighted that we have come up with a way to profit from what before was just a waste product,” said Commission Vice Chairman Bob Rackleff.
“And we’re doing it in a way that really benefits our environment and makes a small but good contribution to fighting global warming.”
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