John
Helmers is the Director of Environmental Resources in Olmsted
County. Ask Helmers about using garbage to produce energy and
you are likely to get a detailed enthusiastic answer. He
directs the Waste to Energy Facility, the recycling center and
hazard waste facilities. The facilities are operated to control
the types of items and the amount of garbage that has to be sent
to the landfill.
Olmsted
County’s waste is processed at the waste-to-energy facility and
steam and electricity provides heat and other energy needs to 37
buildings in Rochester. Included in those numbers are
Rochester Community and Technical College, Federal Medical
Center, Mayo Civic Center, the Government Center, the library
and Olmsted Medical Center to name a few. This form of energy is
one of the very cleanest and easiest on the environment. It
extends the life of the landfill significantly, which is the
main goal of the plant, according to Helmers. To read the entire
article, including a description of their environmental
initiatives, please visit the following link:
http://olmstedcountyjournal.com/waste-to-energy.
