COLUMBUS, Ga. - A plant that turns gas from rotting garbage at the Pine Grove landfill into fuel for the local natural gas system has entered commercial operation, according to the company that built it. The Landfill Group said a city ribbon-cutting set for Thursday, Nov. 12, would mark the start of commercial operations for the project, which it said began running Aug. 10. The city and The Landfill Group call it the first renewable natural gas plant in Columbus, and the city had scheduled guided tours of the plant and the landfill for the ceremony.

The plant collects methane released by decomposing trash and cleans it up so it can be sold. The city's release says construction of the "Methane Gas Extraction Plant" is complete. The Columbus Times had not found a published account of the ceremony itself as of Friday morning.

What the city announced

The city's Oct. 29 release said the ceremony would take place at the facility at 9000 Pinegrove Way. It describes the project as a partnership between the City of Columbus and The Landfill Group "to advance environmental sustainability through the beneficial use of landfill gas." The Landfill Group did extensive methane testing to see whether the landfill could support the plant's construction and long-term operation, the city said.

The release says the facility "will capture and process methane gas generated by the landfill, which will then be sold to outside users as a renewable energy source." The city listed Nov. 12 as the date the plant was scheduled to become fully operational. Drale Short, the city's director of Public Works, and Michael Curran of The Landfill Group are the contacts named for the project.

The plant has been running since August

The company's account adds more detail on the timeline. In an Oct. 22 release distributed by PR Newswire, The Landfill Group said that on Aug. 10, 2026, it began operating the project in partnership with LS Power. The company said the Nov. 12 ceremony would "mark the start of commercial operations."

The project is called Columbus Power Producers, according to the company. Landfill gas collected at the site is processed and upgraded, then injected into the local natural gas system owned and operated by Liberty Utilities (Peach State Natural Gas) Corp. Liberty Utilities Georgia provides natural gas to more than 61,000 customers in the Columbus and Gainesville areas, the release said.

The company also cited an Environmental Protection Agency estimate of the project's benefit. "According to the EPA, the environmental benefits associated with this project at full build out will be equivalent to reducing CO2 emissions of more than 21,159,896 gallons of gasoline each year," the release said. That figure reflects the plant at full build-out, not necessarily its current output.

Pinegrove gas plant by the numbers

What officials are saying

Short said in the company's release that the start of commercial operation "represents an important milestone in Columbus' ongoing commitment to responsible landfill management and environmental stewardship." She said turning landfill gas into renewable natural gas means "we are reducing emissions, improving the long-term sustainability of our landfill operations, and creating a valuable energy resource from material that would otherwise be wasted." The city's public works department runs the landfill.

Curran, The Landfill Group's development manager, credited the city for the project. "In particular, the Columbus Consolidated Government, and especially the Public Works Department, demonstrated tremendous flexibility, collaboration and leadership throughout the development and construction of the project," he said. William Brinker, the company's managing director, said the project shows the company's "discipline in making small scale RNG facilities commercially viable."

Carolyn Bermudez, president of Liberty Utilities Georgia, said the project lets the utility diversify its gas supply. She said it "reduces carbon emissions by capturing, cleaning, and putting naturally occurring gases from our communities to work for our communities while allowing us to purchase gas at a lower cost to the benefit of our customers." The release did not say whether or how the arrangement would change customers' bills.

Why landfill gas matters

Landfill gas forms as buried trash breaks down. The EPA says it is roughly 50% methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, and 50% carbon dioxide, with a small amount of other compounds. Methane is at least 28 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over 100 years, according to the EPA, which cites the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Municipal solid waste landfills were the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States in 2022, accounting for about 14.4% of them, the EPA says. Gas that is collected can be burned in a flare, used to make electricity or upgraded into what the industry calls renewable natural gas. Upgrading raises the methane content and removes carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen so the gas can replace fossil natural gas in pipelines.

The Columbus project takes the pipeline route. The Landfill Group, founded in 1991 as Enerdyne Power Systems, says it has been involved in more than 60 biogas-to-energy projects. LS Power, its partner on landfill gas projects, is a development, investment and operating company in the power and energy infrastructure sector.

A project years in the making

The city has looked at ways to use the landfill's gas for years. A June 2017 council agenda report asked Columbus Council to approve an environmental services agreement with Columbus Power Producers LLC, a company owned by Enerdyne Power Systems, to capture gas at the Pine Grove and Schatulga Road landfills and use it to make electricity or sell it as fuel. Under the terms proposed then, the company would pay all costs of the collection system and plant, and the city would receive 50 cents per MMBtu for gas sold as fuel, for 20 years from the first delivery of gas.

The current terms of the city's deal were not included in the recent announcements, and the 2017 report alone does not show the final version. The city announced the partnership with The Landfill Group to build the renewable natural gas facility in February 2026, when officials expected construction to finish that spring, WTVM reported. The plant began operating in August, a few months after that target, according to the company.

The gas plant sits at the city's municipal solid waste landfill. The city's Public Works website lists the Pine Grove Municipal Landfill at 7900 Pine Grove Way, where it accepts household garbage, construction waste and yard debris from Muscogee County residents. Residents must show a valid ID or water bill, and loads must be a single type of material, the city says.

If you use the landfill

The Pine Grove landfill is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed Sundays, according to the city. It is also open 8 a.m. to noon on select Saturdays, including Dec. 5. The city asks residents to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing for normal drop-offs and at least 90 minutes before closing for large loads.

Household garbage and construction waste cost $85 a ton, and organic waste such as limbs and stumps costs $76.50 a ton, according to the city's fee schedule. Special-handling items and metal cost $102.50 a ton. Residents can confirm hours before a trip by calling the Public Works Department at 706-225-4676, the number the city lists for the department.

Where to find more information

The city's announcement and other releases are posted on the Columbus Consolidated Government news page. Landfill hours, rules and fees are on the Public Works landfill page. Questions about the plant can go to the Public Works Department at 706-225-4676.