The City of Ames operates the only garbage-to-electricity power plant in Iowa, but trash is being temporarily diverted to the Boone County landfill while the Ames plant undergoes an upgrade. Don Kom, Ames’ director of electric services, says changes in the composition of garbage caused more wear on tubes in the boiler. The solution is new tubes coated with a special metal alloy which are now in place and being testing.

The system can generate about 40-percent of Ames’ electricity.