Oh to have the problems of Palo Alto! The stately California town faces this conundrum: Turn a soon-to-be closed landfill into a park or an anaerobic digestion plant.
The city had earmarked the land to be used as a park when the landfill closes in the next two years. For the waste-t0-energy facility to happen, residents would have to vote to “undedicate” the land to the park.
Opponents say turning away from the park plan would be akin to a broken promise. But it would keep composting local; the city already has a compost facility (no surprise) on site at the landfill. If the AD plant doesn’t happen, food and yard scraps would have to be shipped about an hour south if the park plan proceeds.
The Palo Alto city council commissioned an environmental impact report on the proposed AD plant, and it will come out in January. Until then, it’s one shade of green versus another. Who knows how this will end, but I’m definitely staying tuned.
There are so many factors at play here, which makes it a fascinating dilemma. If the same situation occurred in your town, which side do you reckon you’d be on?
It’s too bad both plans can’t coexist. If they could, picnic scraps could be composted quite quickly.
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