Interface Flooring Earns Kudos for Methane Outreach Program
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored Interface Flooring Systems with an "Energy Partner of the Year" award in recognition of the company's role in a South Georgia community project to convert methane from a local landfill into renewable energy.
LAGRANGE, Ga., Jan. 19, 2006 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has honored Interface Flooring Systems with its Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) "Energy Partner of the Year" award in recognition of the company's role in a South Georgia community project to convert methane from a local landfill into renewable energy. The award was presented at the Ninth Annual LMOP Conference & Project Expo in Baltimore, Md. Accepting on behalf of Interface was David Gustashaw, vice president of engineering for Interface Americas and the person who initiated the project in 2001.
"We studied the concept with the City of LaGrange for almost two years before the project took its final form in 2003," explains Gustashaw. "This was an excellent team effort resulting in a solution that benefits the greater LaGrange community. In October 2005, the LFG system was commissioned and Interface became the first carpet manufacturer in the U.S. to use LFG for process heat at its facility."
The landfill gas project was initiated in 2001 when Interface approached the City of LaGrange about the possibility of converting yesterday's waste (the contents of the landfill) to tomorrow's fuel. Working in partnership with the EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), Interface and the City were able to demonstrate the clear environmental, social and economic benefits.
"This project -- the first of its kind in our industry and in Georgia -- is a true, triple bottom line success," said David Hobbs, president of Interface Flooring Systems. "By capturing the methane component of the landfill gas (LFG), using it to displace our use of natural gas and converting the excess to carbon dioxide via a flare, the global warming effects of this landfill are greatly reduced. Local businesses, including Interface, have access to a renewable fuel source and the City of LaGrange has realized a new revenue stream through the sale of the LFG. It is a success on every front -- economically, environmentally, and socially."
"We studied the concept with the City of LaGrange for almost two years before the project took its final form in 2003," explains Gustashaw. "This was an excellent team effort resulting in a solution that benefits the greater LaGrange community. In October 2005, the LFG system was commissioned and Interface became the first carpet manufacturer in the U.S. to use LFG for process heat at its facility."
The landfill gas project was initiated in 2001 when Interface approached the City of LaGrange about the possibility of converting yesterday's waste (the contents of the landfill) to tomorrow's fuel. Working in partnership with the EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), Interface and the City were able to demonstrate the clear environmental, social and economic benefits.
"This project -- the first of its kind in our industry and in Georgia -- is a true, triple bottom line success," said David Hobbs, president of Interface Flooring Systems. "By capturing the methane component of the landfill gas (LFG), using it to displace our use of natural gas and converting the excess to carbon dioxide via a flare, the global warming effects of this landfill are greatly reduced. Local businesses, including Interface, have access to a renewable fuel source and the City of LaGrange has realized a new revenue stream through the sale of the LFG. It is a success on every front -- economically, environmentally, and socially."
