How Capturing Landfill Methane Can Reduce Emissions and Strengthen Communities in Georgia

Chapters

00:00 Meet Garry Harris and the Center for Sustainable Communities 

02:01 Why Landfill Methane Is a Significant Climate Issue 

05:14 How to Reduce Methane Emissions from Landfills 

08:38 What Is Landfill Gas Capture, and How Does It Work? 

10:57 How Landfill Gas Projects Benefit Local Communities 

16:54 Community Engagement and Climate Justice in Landfill Projects 

23:00 What’s Giving Garry Harris Hope

When most people think about climate solutions in Georgia, they think about solar panels, electric vehicles, or tree planting. But beneath the surface, quite literally, lies one of the most powerful and immediate opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our state.

In this edition of the Georgia Climate Digest interview series, host Eriqah Vincent sits down with Garry Harris, Managing Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities, to talk about why landfill methane capture deserves more attention, and how it benefits communities across Georgia.

Why Is Landfill Methane Such a Significant Climate Issue?

As food scraps, yard debris, and other organic material decompose in landfills, they release methane, a greenhouse gas with far more warming potential than carbon dioxide. Garry explains that methane is up to 30 times more potent than CO2 over a 100-year timeframe, and more than 80 times more potent over 20 years, making it a high-impact target for near-term emissions reductions. Georgia’s 77 landfills release an estimated 180 million cubic feet of gas per day, or roughly 65 billion cubic feet a year, and without capture systems, a portion of that methane escapes straight into the atmosphere.

How Does Landfill Gas Capture Actually Work?

Garry walks through the mechanics: landfills are fitted with vertical and horizontal pipes that collect gas as waste decomposes, and vacuum systems draw that gas into treatment systems that remove moisture and impurities. What’s left is a refined, renewable natural gas that can generate electricity, power industrial processes, or be converted into transportation fuel. Georgia already has 19 landfill gas-to-energy facilities producing about 66 megawatts of power, turning a waste byproduct into a local energy asset.

How Do These Projects Benefit Local Communities?

Beyond emissions reductions, Garry outlines a range of co-benefits: cleaner local air quality, reduced odor and explosion risk, and new jobs in engineering, construction, and long-term operations. He also points to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where a former landfill was transformed into Mount Trashmore, now a public park built around a lake.

Why Does Environmental Justice Have to Be Central to These Projects?

Landfills have historically been sited near lower-income communities and communities of color, and Garry is direct about what that means for how these projects get built. “Communities have to own these projects,” he says, describing an approach where residents are meaningfully engaged from early planning through permitting, construction, and operation, not simply informed after decisions are made. He points to the Guidelines for Equitable Community Involvement in Building and Development Projects and Policies, co-authored with the NAACP, as a practical framework for making that engagement authentic rather than performative.

Whether you’re a policymaker, a sustainability director, or simply curious about an overlooked climate solution, this conversation offers a clear look at how Georgia can turn a long-standing waste challenge into a source of clean energy, jobs, and stronger communities.

What You’ll Learn

• Why methane from landfills has such an outsized short-term impact on climate change.
• How landfill gas is captured, refined, and turned into electricity, industrial energy, or transportation fuel.
• How many landfill gas-to-energy projects are already operating in Georgia, and how much power they produce.
• The economic, health, and safety benefits landfill gas capture brings to nearby communities.
• Why authentic community ownership, not just notification, is essential to equitable landfill projects.
• What gives Garry Harris hope about climate progress in Georgia.

Continue reading in our companion blog for additional examples, data points, and key takeaways from Garry’s conversation about landfill methane capture, the community benefits, and environmental justice.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this interview with Garry Harris to explore his insights on landfill methane capture, community benefits, and environmental justice in Georgia.