Arlington city officials describe the methane gas recycling program as a "renewable energy success story" that started five years ago when Bob Byrd, the Assistant Director of Neighborhood Services, began a preliminary search for energy recycling efforts at the landfill.

In 1997, the City installed a gas collection system at its landfill site in north Arlington. Everyday, the landfill accepts approximately 1,200 tons of municipal solid waste.

Approximately four miles from the landfill, the Village Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant was utilizing gas to generate electricity onsite. The Village Creek Plant planned to install more gas turbine generators and modified the equipment to allow Arlington to become a supplemental fuel source using the landfill methane gas for its new electric generation systems.

The most challenging obstacle was the pipeline route from the Arlington landfill to Village Creek through River Legacy Park, Byrd said. Naturalists and surveyors developed a plan to successfully cross the environmentally sensitive areas of the Trinity River. They worked with the River Legacy Park Foundation to identify routes through the park that would have the least environmental impact on trees and land, Byrd said.

Vertical landfill gas that would have otherwise been flared was combined with digester gas from the Village Creek Water Treatment process to fuel electric generation facilities and provide waste heat for other uses.

Neighborhood Services Director Trey Yelverton said one of the most important aspects of the project was the high degree of cooperation developed between the City of Arlington, the City of Fort Worth, Lone Star Energy Services, Inc., the River Legacy Parks Foundation and Renovar, a private renewable energy company.

It is anticipated that the success of this project could encourage other municipalities in the North Texas region to seek their own renewable energy success stories, Byrd said.

He said public and private partnerships are the key to more extensive renewable energy development.

The Tarrant County Corporate Recycling Council presented the 2003 Environmental Vision Award to John Darling of Arlington. Darling is a member of the Arlington Conservation Council and the Arlington Master Composter Program. City officials say he devotes countless hours helping Arlington residents recycle.

Darling led efforts to open Arlington’s second backyard composting demonstration site in Veteran’s Park, said Recycling Coordinator Lorrie Anderle. He maintains the site and works with other master composters to teach free backyard composting classes. He serves as editor of the Arlington Conservation Council quarterly newsletter and is being credited with the successful implementation of a recycling program for the 45,000 patrons of North Texas’ largest Independence Day Parade in downtown Arlington.