What if the things we throw away could help energize our communities?
In northern Minnesota, we worked with St. Louis County to turn that possibility into practice. Together, we paired an advanced leachate treatment facility with Minnesota’s first landfill-based geothermal system. The result? A new model for sustainable landfill management.
Located within the watershed that feeds the Boundary Waters, the St. Louis County Regional Landfill needs solutions that protect a treasured natural resource. The facility removes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—often called “forever chemicals”—and other contaminants from landfill leachate. The new facility transforms a potential environmental risk into a reusable water resource.
The system captures heat produced as waste breaks down and uses it to warm the treatment building and support day-to-day operations. Each year through 2055, it is expected to recover about 5,800 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of heat energy, enough to heat roughly 50 homes.
There are only a few systems like it in the world. And this is the first in Minnesota. Combining leachate treatment, heat recovery, and sustainable landfill planning is protecting water resources and recovering value from waste.
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