Bill Would Lift Georgia Yard Waste Ban in Landfills

Decatur Metro | March 31, 2011 | 10:47 am

Smalltowngal points out a call-to-action on the Oakhurst Message Board urging area residents to contact their local legislators about Georgia House Bill 274, which would lift the statewide ban on yard waste in landfills (with “linings”) under the premise that the additional garbage would increase methane captured as a renewable energy source.

The AJC actually wrote an extensive article on the bill back on March 12th…

If approved, the bill would end a state ban on yard trimmings in landfills that was imposed in 1996 with the stated goals of conserving landfill capacity and promoting recycling. Delaware this year became the 23rd state to impose such a ban.

The city of Atlanta and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are on the side of environmental lobbyists who are working to kill the bill. On the other side, the waste management companies have lobbyists, attorneys and what some would argue is a distinct advantage: They wrote the bill.

 

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6 Responses to “Bill Would Lift Georgia Yard Waste Ban in Landfills”

  1. OakhurstMomma says:
    March 31, 2011 at 11:54 am

    I believe our Oakhurst rep Stacey Abrams voted for that bill, but from what I read it is a bad bill and should be killed.

  2. AnotherRick says:
    March 31, 2011 at 12:24 pm

    I am getting really sick of the Georgia legislature passing bad bills at the behest of corporate lobbyists, attorneys. It is much worse this year than in the past. Why is that? When will people stand up for the public interest?

    • Decatur Metro says:
      March 31, 2011 at 1:10 pm

      Is it that cut-and-dry? It seems like a bit of a dilemma if you’re looking at it with an eye towards the environment.

      Is some reuse as mulch and/or being dumped separately, all that much better than being dumped with other garbage and producing energy with methane? I’m guessing it is, but no one is really providing a good comparison of reuse off-set vs. energy, to really make an informed determination.

  3. Diane says:
    March 31, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    Georgia Organics, which represents organic farmers and the like, is opposed to this bill because it would reduce the waste that could be used for composting. I, dunno DM, if the EPA is against it, I’m not sure it’s going to help the environment.

  4. lumpintheroad says:
    March 31, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    I actually posted a short blog editorial on this very topic in my professional capacity:

    http://blog.wasteindustrysite.com/the_heap/2011/03/17/georgia-legislature-votes-to-lift-yard-waste-landfill-ban/

    Note the official response from the National Solid Wastes Management Association (the advocacy organization for the private waste and recycling industry) in the comments, which will give you some sense of their thought behind supporting lifting the ban.

    While it may not be as cut and dry as either side contends, I do think it’s a bad bill and would do more harm than good.

    • Eric B says:
      March 31, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Thank you for providing additional color on this topic. It was informative. As someone who is admittedly often skeptical of some of the claims made by green/clean energy advocates, I am hard pressed to believe that this is a good idea, but not because I don’t believe in recovering gas from landfills.

      It just seems irresponsible to dispose of grass clippings into a landfill. Like DM said, we need more information.

      Your “turn off the A/C but leave the freezer door open” analogy was a good one.
      I’d be curious to know how the amount of energy that can be recovered from a bag (or truckload of bags) of yard trimmings compares to the energy needed to move even a large, efficient diesel truck to the landfill. Let’s not burn more energy by making more trips to the landfill just to get back some small percentage of the energy required to move the clippings.

      And to what extent is electricity generated from landfill gas subsidized? Do the utilities get to buy it at lower costs as incentive to use it or do the landfills/recovery plants get to sell it at artificially high prices?