Truckload after truckload of trash dumped at the Chestnut Ridge Landfill is powering thousands of homes in the Tennessee Valley.
Waste Management and the Tennessee Valley Authority have inked a 20 year deal that will turn trash into treasure.
"It really gives us a chance to take something that hasn't had any use and create value out of it, create electricity, " said Rob Owen of Waste Management.
Here's how they do it.
Mounds of covered trash at the landfill decompose. Within 2-to-5 years, methane gas builds up. One-hundred-plus wells drilled into the hills of trash extract the gas and pull it into a collection system.
Most of the gas fuels the four generators on site which produce the electricity.
TVA's Chris Hansen said the power then goes straight to KUB's power grid.
"This power is just staying local, inside the valley," said Hansen.
Right now the gas plant doesn't have enough generator power to convert all the methane gas to electricity so it has to flare it off.
"Landfill gas is a huge contributor to greenhouse gases. That's one reason we have to collect and manage it, " said Owen.
This summer, Waste Management will install a larger generator at the plant which means it will burn less methane and produce more electricity for TVA.
Currently, it creates enough electricity to power 2,400 homes in the Tennessee Valley.
"When we bring on our other engine in June, we'll bring in another 1,800 kilowatts. It's growing, " said Owen.