The purpose of a landfill is to bury the trash in such a way that it will be isolated from groundwater, will be kept dry and will not be in contact with air. Unlike a compost pile, a landfill is designed to keep the trash away from people, but does not allow it to decompose quickly.

How is AEL different from an ordinary Landfill? Three vital ways:

• AEL is a renewable energy landfill equipped with 67 wells placed throughout our facility to collect methane gas generated from decomposing waste.

• AEL has 2-CAT 3520 engines generating 3.2 MW of electricity daily. This is currently providing electricity to just under 20,000 Oklahomans.

• AEL has an active metals recycling program recovering over 90% of all metal and white goods.

So, you see we’re not just burying the trash burden and hoping it goes away…we’re utilizing methane from waste to generate power for the community and recycling metal material to be used as products. Why? Because we care.