EPA to state: Yard-waste-in-landfills bill is bad idea
Add another critic to the list of those who think legislation is horrendous idea
A bill that could send 1.5 million tons of perfectly good yard waste into landfills every year — and generate a nice amount of cash for a few landfill companies — has generated ample criticism from environmentalists, composting buffs and businessmen who rely on the discarded yard trimmings.
You can now add the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the list of critics.
In a Feb. 25 letter to state Environmental Protection Director Allen Barnes, EPA Region IV Director Alan Farmer says the federal agency “shares your concern” about the bill, which would repeal the ban on yard waste in certain landfills. (You can download a PDF of Farmer’s letter if you’d like.)
If approved, the bill sponsored by state Rep. Randy Nix, R-LaGrange, would allow landfills that capture methane gas to accept the yard trimmings you — or at least Atlanta residents — on the curb with your recycling. The landfills say that extra waste would boost methane production, which they later sell as bioenergy. It’d also mean they could make more cash in dumping fees during a dismal economic period when even they’re hurting.