The rubbish we bury in landfills decomposes slowly, producing methane which escapes into the atmosphere.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas - about 21 times as powerful as carbon dioxide - so projects which capture and destroy that gas are of great benefit to the climate. This Missouri based project capture the methane from landfills using wells, pipes, caps, blowers and other technology, and destroys the gas by burning it in a flare.

The carbon released comes from the organic materials in the landfill; and those materials gathered their carbon by pulling carbon dioxide out of the air. Burning the methane gas returns the carbon to its original form, carbon dioxide, completing the cycle.