MIDLAND, Mich. -- One local community is making plans to put its waste to good use.

Monday night, Midland City Council members approved contracts for the multi-million dollar project and now the city’s landfill is one step closer to turning methane gas into electric power.

When trash decomposes one of the by products is methane gas.

At the Midland landfill, that gas is released into the atmosphere -- but it won't for long.

Landfill Supervisor Scott O'Laughlin walked WNEM TV5 through their green, stink-free solution.

“The neighbors can smell that odor as it passes from our borders,” said O’Laughlin.

Methane is also a greenhouse gas, which is possibly a contributing factor to global warming.

The city of Midland landfill has found a way to harvest that gas.

“Basically, pull the gas out of the garbage and run that through the pipeline to an energy facility where we can generate electricity,” said O’Laughlin.

The White Feather Landfill in Pinconning is already using the technology, and the only difference is everything is onsite and the power is sold to the energy company.

Piping for the project will make up five percent of the total cost to deliver the methane to a processor.

It needs to extend three miles from the landfill to the waste water treatment facility. That plant will house the gas-to-energy processing equipment.

The project is expected to cost up to $12 million.

The energy harvested will be used to power both the waste water and water treatment plants.

“I believe in the matter of 3 or 4 years it should pay for itself,” said O’Laughlin.

The city’s waste water and water treatment plants currently spend more than $800,000 on electricity.

Officials said the landfill gas project could eventually cut that bill by 30 percent.