Another source of biomass is our garbage, also called municipal solid waste (MSW). Trash that comes from plant or animal products is biomass. Food scraps, lawn clippings, and leaves are all examples of biomass trash. Materials that are made out of glass, plastic, and metals are not biomass because they are made out of non-renewable materials. MSW can be a source of energy by either burning MSW in waste-to-energy plants, or by capturing biogas. In waste-to-energy plants, trash is burned to produce steam that can be used either to heat buildings or to generate electricity.
In landfills, biomass rots and releases methane gas, also called biogas or landfill gas. Some landfills have a system that collects the methane gas so that it can be used as a fuel source. Some dairy farmers collect biogas from tanks called "digesters" where they put all of the muck and manure from their barns. Read about a field trip to a real waste-to-energy plant or learn about the history of MSW.
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