Key South Carolina communities are presently confronted with four simultaneous problems:

1. Populations are continuing to grow, and with the growth comes increased municipal waste.
2. Existing landfills are reaching or exceeding capacity, and the process for finding and building new ones is becoming increasingly difficult.
3. Fuel costs are rising and the number of vehicles needed to service growing populations is also rising, giving a double, negative "hit" to municipal budgets.
4. Increasing the tax base to cover increasing municipal operating costs poses real challenges.

Traditional models and methods for managing these problems may not provide a solution. It is clear to many that the time has come to consider fundamental change, which must start with a willingness to explore new concepts and ideas. Finding that right mixture of "evolution and revolution" requires very careful consideration and study, as there is great deal at stake.

Initial analysis of these concurrent problems have shown that there is considerable potential for "win-win-win" solutions when "out-of-the-box" alternatives to traditional means are considered. Here is one example:

• Vehicle fuel costs are currently skyrocketing. The traditional fossil-fuel diesel used by many of the municipal vehicles will probably exceed $5.00 a gallon in the near future.

• Recent studies, including those by Greenway Labs indicate that "home grown" BIODIESEL can be produced for considerably less, perhaps less than $3.00 per gallon.

• A key ingredient in BIODIESEL production is methanol alcohol, or "METHANOL". Most domestic METHANOL is made from methane gas; reclaimed gaseous emissions from landfills contain as much as 50% methane.

• Relatively small amounts of electricity and heat are needed by the BIODIESEL production process (transesterification).

• Co-locating the BIODIESEL production facility at or near the landfill / MSW processing facility can provide all of the BIODIESEL production needs, including:

- Electricity from on-site cogeneration; process heat from on-site incineration.

- On-site methanol manufacture from landfill gas.

- Possible bio-oil feedstock recovered from MSW stream to be refined and combined on-site with "home-grown" virgin bio-oils that has been trucked or piped into the facility.

- An industrial location suitable for commercial BIODIESEL production.