Dive Brief:

• Santa Barbara County, CA is considering a $50 million waste-to-energy project. The proposal could potentially double the lifespan of the nearby Tajiguas landfill.
• The Resource Recovery Project would be capable of separating recyclables and organic materials from trash. The organics would be converted into methane, which would then be transformed into energy used to power on-site generators. The excess would be sold on the grid. 
• The county’s landfill diversion rate is already 70% -- and the new facility could push it to 80%. If the project moves forward, the county hopes to landfill 100,000 tons of waste annually, instead of the current rate of 200,000 tons per year. 

Dive Insight:

The county is calling the project the ‘Materials Recovery Facility and Dry Fermentation Anaerobic Digestion Facility.’ The plant itself would measure in at 60,000 square feet. Matt Fore, the manager of the City of Santa Barbara’s Environmental Services Division, said “This is really aimed at getting the recyclable material that we are leaving in the trash can.”