Biogas and landfill gas fact sheet

Utilising biogas makes sense because it occurs as a result of a number of existing natural processes and the gas would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere as a harmful greenhouse gas. Biogas contains methane, which has twenty times more greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide. The process of burning biogas for electricity generation or heat converts the methane into carbon dioxide, therefore significantly reducing the environmental impact.

Using biogas technology also means that the polluting potential of organic material is reduced. For example a farmer may choose to collect the effluent from a shed and convert it into gas in an engineered waste digester. By doing so, the farmer avoids having to dispose of the material in the local river which can harm the environment, incur a disposal charge and possibly contaminate the area if any disease was present in the original waste. The farmer can then use the sludge from the digester as a fertiliser as any harmful bacteria will have been killed during the gasification process.