U.S. Capitol Pens Waste-to-Energy Contract

by | Oct 10, 2011

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The U.S. Capitol is to divert 90 percent of its solid waste from landfills to local waste-to-energy facilities.

Congress’s estimated 5,300 tons of annual non-recyclable waste will now fuel local incinerators and put energy back on the grid.

The Architect of the Capitol, the federal agency charged with maintaining the building, says waste-to-energy programs are more cost effective than composting. Waste also produces power with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity, according to the EPA.

The AOC expects the new waste removal contract to save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

Chairman of the House Administration Committee Dan Lungren, R-Calif, said that the deal was originally only going to cover the House side of the Capitol, but that it had won Senate support in recent months, the New York Times reports.

In June, it was revealed that the facility powering the Capitol and other key buildings had saved more than $9.5 million on a new 17-month natural gas contract secured through the World Energy Exchange.

The General Services Administration ran a series of online reverse auctions on the exchange together with energy management services firm World Energy, to procure natural gas for the Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant.

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