Urban Decay

Boston looks to generate electricity from indoor composting

Posted at 3:07 PM on 26 Mar 2008

The city of Boston is looking to build an urban, indoor composting facility. Most cities, if they compost at all, transport food and yard waste in gas-guzzling trucks to dumps outside the city limits, where energy and methane from decomposing biomass get lost to the atmosphere. The first-of-its-kind proposed Boston facility would generate electricity from rotting leaves and fruit, enough to potentially power 1,500 homes. The project would create green jobs, make fertilizer available to sell, and, of course, put all of those colorful New England leaves to good use. The facility is still in planning stages, but Mayor Tom Menino is optimistic, proclaiming, "We're really turning Beantown into Greentown."

sources:  NPR, The Boston Globe