Our Douglas County landfill now supplies electricity. Since December 2011, landfill gasses have been burned in an engine that generates about 16 kilowatts of electricity, enough for about 1,400 homes connected to the Pacific Power electric grid. No longer are the landfill gasses “flared off.” Douglas County Public Works operates and maintains the landfill located off McLain Avenue, Roseburg, at Interstate 5’s Exit 121. Operations manager Joe Powell estimated about 200 tons of trash are added per day. Naturally-occurring bacteria rot organic “wastes.” Bacteria emit gasses, mostly methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Vertical wells …