One Person's Trash is Another Person's Ethanol: An Environmental Stimulus Package

Monday, February 8th, 2:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. - New Ways of Looking at Organics Recovery

Clifford E. Duggan Jr., Legal Counsel, Lake County Solid Waste Management District

A COUNTY SOLID WASTE DISTRICT’S JOURNEY FROM RFP TO WTE

The Lake County Solid Waste Management District Board entered into a collective purchasing agreement on November 20, 2008 with Powers Energy One of Indiana, LLC for and on behalf of the cities and towns in Lake County, and subject to approval by each of the participating Lake County municipalities. The project involves a waste to ethanol facility which would receive the municipal solid waste currently being generated and collected in each city and town, recycling various materials, and processing the remainder of the waste into ethanol. Any material not otherwise recycled or transformed into ethanol would still be disposed at an appropriate landfill.

The benefits of such a project are numerous. From a solid waste management standpoint, the amount of waste ultimately going to landfills would be reduced by 80% to 90%, with the diverted material being recycled. The ethanol being produced, approximately 90 gallons per ton of waste, would help reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil and reduce the trade deficit. The cost to the municipalities for the processing and disposal of the solid waste will be $17.25/ton at the waste to ethanol facility, with no yearly increase for 20 years: a savings of over two-thirds the cost for landfilling in our area. In addition, the municipality in which the facility will be located will additionally receive 3 cents/gallon for each gallon of ethanol produced.

The presentation will detail the process followed by the District, including the negotiation of the agreement, as well as the technical and financial review of the proposals.