Homes could be powered 'by landfill electricity'

Houses in north Belfast could soon be powered courtesy of a local landfill site, it has emerged.

Methane generated by the ten million tonnes of rubbish dumped at the Dargan Road landfill site could be converted into enough energy to power around 6,000 homes, reported the BBC.

In light of this, Renewable Power Systems and the city council are currently working together to develop the plans, which would see pipes installed designed to channel the gas from the site and convert it into electricity.

Susan Quail, North Foreshore project manager explained: "We're going to actually reduce the greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and we're going to make Belfast a cleaner, greener place for future generations."

Earlier this week, it was announced that supermarket Sainsbury's is aiming to cut the amount of waste it sends to landfill to zero by 2009.

It plans to do so by establishing its own chain of anaerobic digestion plants.