Make Every Day Earth Day
In this issue, we focus our attention on resources that will help you celebrate Earth Day, and we'll provide some background information about how the holiday evolved. You'll learn about a facility in North Carolina that's leading the way in the ultimate reuse of solid waste: how to use landfill gas as a resource.
Just for fun, we'll show you how to recycle old crayons into a new form of the art material, and we'll share a recipe for a most unlikely taste treat: an edible landfill! Finally, we'll tell you about a company in Georgia that recycles milk jugs into cool playground equipment, and you'll have a chance to win a book that shows how to reuse junk mail to make origami.
What's In This Issue
- Make Every Day Earth Day Landfill Gas/Creativity
- History of Earth Day
- Recommended Earth Day Themes
- Recycled Crayon Project
- Anatomy of a Landfill
- Edible Landfill Lesson
- Leftovers
Spring 2009
Landfill Gas Fuels Creativity and Economic Development
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency sets the
requirements for the operation of municipal solid waste landfills. Once a
landfill stops receiving waste and is closed, the operators are required to
monitor and maintain the facility in order to protect the
environment.Most closed landfills become conservation or recreational areas, but many have been used for shopping malls, office parks, hotels, drive-in theaters, amphitheaters, and airfields. The North Carolina facility featured here is home to the world's first landfill gas-fired pottery kilns and glass furnaces.
Located at the foot of the Black Mountains in Burnsville, North Carolina, the EnergyXchange is a nonprofit organization that operates greenhouses, and clay and glass studios, all powered by landfill gas. In addition to these work areas, the facility features a visitors center and a retail craft gallery.
Celebrating its tenth year of operation on Earth Day, 2009, the EnergyXchange has become a worldwide model for similar operations that seek to find new uses for closed facilities and/or landfill gas.
When the landfill serving Yancey and Mitchell Counties was closed in 1994, citizens began discussing and researching how to reuse the land. Since the area is home to many artists and native plants, it was decided that the closed landfill would be a great place to set up a business incubator.
After years of research and feasibility studies, plans moved forward to create studios and greenhouses that would capture landfill gas and use it as a source of energy. The system was activated on Earth Day in 1999, and two years later, the facility was finished. The craft studios consist of areas that support glass blowing and pottery making.
While at the EnergyXchange, artists have the opportunity to create new work,
receive business advice from experts in the field, and sell their glass and
pottery in the gallery showroom. The glass furnaces and kilns are powered by gas
that's created below the surface of the landfill's cap. As the solid waste
decomposes, gas consisting of methane and carbon dioxide is released. 
At most landfills, this gas is sent into the atmosphere, but at
EnergyXchange, it's collected and used to blow glass and to bake pottery. Collecting
and using the landfill gas in this way saves the artists money, and it helps to
reduce pollution in the area. In fact, an EPA study showed that the project
would have the same effect as taking more than 20,000 cars off North Carolina
roads each year
Schoolchildren and civic groups often tour the facility, and members of
the general public are welcome to visit the EnergyXchange to see how landfill gas
is used to create beautiful works of art. A gallery or showroom is filled with
pottery and glass that are available for purchase, and artists are often on hand
to greet visitors and to answer questions.
In addition to providing the power to run glass furnaces and pottery kilns,
the landfill gas is used to heat greenhouses. Project Branch Out was created to
grow rare and native ornamentals from seed. This helps the economy of the area,
and using landfill gas in this way lowers emissions, too.Students who are accepted into the EnergyXchange program learn how to manage a greenhouse while providing plants such as native rhododendron and azalea for local nurseries. By spring of 2009, the campus will include four greenhouses and seven cold frames.
The EnergyXchange facility provides the area with a renewable source of energy and cleaner air. It also creates more jobs, and the project helps reduce greenhouse gases. Visit the EnergyXchange to learn more about how the organization uses landfill gas to provide fuel for its programs and employment for artists and horticulturists.
Photos were provided by Jim Murray, Executive Director of the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Mangement District.
The Anatomy of a Landfill
As we learned elsewhere at The Imagination Factory, people in charge of solid waste or trash dispose of it in a place called a landfill. In larger cities, a big pit is dug in the ground, andthen it's lined with a special piece of plastic before any garbage is dumped into it. This liner protects the groundwater.
Leachate is water that's become contaminated because it came in contact with waste. In order to further protect the groundwater, it's important that the workers try to keep the landfill dry so the amount of leachate will be reduced. One way this is done is by using pipes that are laid on gravel along the bottom of the landfill. The pumped leachate is then treated at a wastewater plant.To save space, heavy equipment, such as tractors and bulldozers, smash or pack the trash tightly together. When workers have finished for the day, the solid waste is covered with soil to keep it from contaminating the air and surrounding land. This one day's trash is called a cell. The next day, new trash is dumped into the landfill, and again, at the end of the day, it's covered with dirt. This process goes on for many years.
When trash is buried in a landfill, bacteria break it down and create a landfill gas that's about half methane and half carbon dioxide. Since methane is hazardous and can explode or burn, it's necessary that landfills be vented so the gas can escape. Gas collection pipes are placed within the landfill to allow this to take place.With good planning, a landfill will last many years. When the time comes to close a section, it's necessary that the land be covered or capped. This is done with a synthetic material called polyethylene, and then it's covered with a two-foot layer of soil. Finally, grass is planted to prevent erosion that might occur from wind and rain.
How to:
The pie crust represents the pit or hole in the ground. Line it with strips of the Fruit Roll-Up. Place four or five graham crackers in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Sprinkle crumbs (gravel) onto the first layer.The shoe string licorice represents the leachate pipes. Cut the candy into two or three pieces that are long enough to stretch across the graham cracker crumb layer. Leave the ends hanging out of the crust on one side.
Mix the instant pudding with milk, add 1 cup of m & m's (or chocolate chips), and gently stir the candy into the pudding. Divide the mixture in half, and carefully spoon small amounts of it onto the graham cracker crumbs. Smooth it out.
Using a rolling pin, crush half of the Oreos in a plastic bag, and sprinkle some of the crumbs onto the pudding layer, covering it.
Carefully spoon out and spread the remaining pudding/m & m's mixture over the Oreo crumbs. Crush the rest of the Oreos and sprinkle some onto the pudding/m&m's layer.
Cap the landfill dessert with more strips of the Fruit Roll-Up, and add more crushed Oreos on top.
Spoon small amounts of the chocolate Cool Whip over the Oreo layer, and using a spatula, carefully spread it onto the crushed cookie topping.
For grass, put 2 cups of coconut in a zipper-type, plastic bag. Add 12 drops of green food color, and squeeze until evenly coated. Sprinkle coconut over the Cool Whip and gently press into the topping.
Small pieces of soft, licorice stick will represent the gas collection pipes. Cut them into sections that are about two inches long, and poke the pieces into the top at various places.
To allow it to set up, refrigerate the Delectable, Edible Landfill for about an hour, and then cut and serve. Yum!
Summary of Layers
Cell-graham cracker crustLiner-Fruit Roll-Ups
Gravel-crushed graham crackers
Leachate pipes-red shoe string licorice
Trash-instant vanilla pudding/m&m's
Soil-Oreos
Trash-instant vanilla pudding/m&m's
Soil-Oreos
Cap-Fruit Roll-Ups
Soil-Oreos
Soil-Chocolate Cool Whip
Grass-dyed coconut
Gas collection pipes-soft licorice sticks
Tips and Tricks:
Make a less expensive model of a landfill by making a salad. Substitute vegetables for the layers described above.Use a large, clear glass serving bowl to make a dessert that will allow you to see the different “materials” in a landfill. The bowl will represent the landfill, so just increase the amounts of all the other ingredients. Add many more layers of the pudding mix, alternating with the crushed Oreos. Top as before, and spoon to serve.
Chocolate Cool Whip or dessert topping is used in addition to the Oreos in the last “soil layer” to help the coconut stick better. If you can't find this kind in your area, just add chocolate syrup to regular dessert topping and stir.
Getting through the liner or Fruit Roll-Ups may be a challenge, so use a sharp knife in cutting the dessert!
After cleaning up and enjoying your edible landfill, don't forget to recycle the plastic, cardboard, and aluminum.
Thanks to my students, Leo and Lily for creating the Delectable Edible Landfill.
Leftovers:
Drink Your Milk and You Can Go Out and Play!
Safeplay Systems, an American playground equipment company, recycles plastic milk jugs to make playgrounds. Since the company began in 1989, employees have saved more than 7,000,000 containers from going to landfills! Visit Safeplay Systems to learn more about Ecoplay, a post-consumer recycled plastic produced specifically for the playground market.
Pictured above is one of the company's playgrounds. How many milk jugs do you think were recycled to make this model? The Imagination Factory Member who comes closest to the correct answer will win a copy of Junk Mail Origami. Written by Duy and Tramy Nguyen, the book includes nearly two dozen ways to make animals and other figures from junk mail. Send your answer by June 6, 2009 to kidatart@kid-at-art.com.
