Improving Air Quality In The Midwest

By capturing and destroying methane, this project significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere.

The Maple Hill Landfill uses an active gas collection system to capture landfill gas, primarily methane, produced by decomposing waste. This system removes moisture from the gas and then routes it to a flare, where the methane is burned off—a process known as flaring. While methane can sometimes be used for energy generation, the primary method at Maple Hill is flaring, which destroys a substantial portion of the methane and significantly reduces the landfill’s environmental footprint. The project is recognized as a high-impact environmental initiative and helps organizations achieve carbon neutrality through the purchase of verified carbon offsets.

Methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Over a 100-year period, methane has about 28 times greater global warming potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide. On a shorter, 20-year timescale, methane is roughly 80 to 84 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere. This means that, pound for pound, methane causes significantly more warming than carbon dioxide in the short and medium term.

The Advanced Disposal Services Maple Hill Landfill (ADSMHL) is a municipal sanitary waste landfill located in Macon County on Intrepid Road approximately 5 miles west of the city of Macon, Missouri. The landfill began accepting waste at the site in 1976, which is situated within a property of approximately 430 acres, with 130 acres for waste disposal. The landfill facility is owned by Advanced Disposal Services Maple Hill Landfill, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management Inc. The (Landfill Gas) LFG collection and control system was developed within four of the landfill phases and consists of 37 vertical extraction wells and three leachate extraction points. The initial gas system was voluntarily installed and came online in September 2002.

Additional details can be found on our Project Information page.