Homers -- What's going right

TRASH TO ENERGY: The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency continues to finds ways to divert more trash from the landfill. It's now shipping discarded carpet to Heritage Environmental Services, which has a new carpet recycling plant in Kansas City, Mo. The agency is also planning to use the methane generated by decaying trash at its Marion site to produce electricity for about 1,000 homes and capture the generator's heat to warm the new Resource Recovery Center, saving $90,000 a year in utility costs. After 10 years, the upfront cost of the system will be recovered, leaving a revenue stream. Meanwhile, neighbor Iowa City is considering a deal with Fiberight, a Maryland-based company that plans to build a biorefinery plant in Blairstown. Fiberight wants to convert much of the city's solid waste into biofuel, thus reducing the volume going to the landfill by up to 80 percent.

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GOING FOR BLUE: Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Marion are all reapplying to become Blue Zones demonstration sites. Most important, leaders in those communities plan to pursue health initiatives even if they're not chosen by the national program to improve Americans' lifestyles and health.

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