METHANE EMISSIONS FROM THE CLAY COUNTY (MINNESOTA) SANITARY LANDFILL: AN ANALYSIS DONE DURING AN INTERNSHIP WITH THE CLAY COUNTY SOLID WASTE COMISSION

Landfills in the United States contribute to 17% of the methane emissions. Mitigation techniques for methane production from landfills are a growing concern as climate change becomes increasingly important. Landfills have implemented mitigation techniques such as flaring the methane for conversion to CO2 and use of methane as an onsite energy source. A strong example of methane mitigation techniques is the Clay County (Minnesota) Sanitary Landfill (CCSL). As a student at Minnesota State University – Moorhead, I completed an internship with CCSL where my main responsibility was analyzing the gas samples from the methane collection wells. I sample the gas wells from cells of varying closure ages. The main mitigation technique at CCSL is the flaring of methane. CCSL utilizes methane as a heating source in the winter only. CCSL is a flagship landfill in terms of understanding its environmental impact. CCSL is very thorough in methane mitigation techniques and water sampling. The improved mitigation and collection of methane from landfills can significantly reduce methane emissions from the solid waste sector. The research associated with this internship is based in the efficiency of flaring of methane to reduce the greenhouse gas impact resulting from the solid waste sector.