Waste to Energy

It may look peaceful when the frontloaders aren’t running, but there’s always a churning caldron of activity under the South Kent Landfill in Byron Center, where microbes feast on the more than 4 million tons of trash covered by a layer of soil. As they munch on organic matter, the anaerobic bacteria release methane, a colorless and odorless gas that can be cleaned and burned. Kent County and Granger Electric have joined forces to turn the waste methane into electricity — enough to power more than 1,800 homes. Rapid Growth takes you behind the scenes of how this creative public-private partnership turns a greenhouse gas into a valuable commodity.