At the Brickyard Disposal and Recycling Facility in Danville, IL, Biogas Energy Solutions is voluntarily collecting and destroying methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Methane is a significant contributor to climate change, roughly 21 times more powerful in this regard than carbon dioxide.

Deep within a landfill, bacteria break down organic material, and in the process they produce a gas that can be up to 60 percent methane. The Brickyard facility was originally built to meet local and federal environmental standards, with passive vents that dispersed this gas into the atmosphere. In 1998, Biogas Energy Solutions installed a system to continually collect and destroy the gas, substantially reducing its global warming potential. The reductions in emissions from 2006 on are available for sale as carbon offsets on the American Carbon Registry.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is only one of the benefits achieved by capturing the methane. Biogas Energy Solutions installed a 3.0 MW generator to produce electricity from the gas. In addition, destroying the gas eliminates the noxious odor associated with the methane.