Environmentalists in Kuwait — indeed a rare breed — celebrated scent-free, fresh air on Earth Day in the town of al-Qurain, nine miles south of Kuwait City. Thirty years ago, before the town was developed, officials began dumping the nation’s trash in an abandoned quarry in al-Qurain. Fifteen years later, housing went up, and residents since then have had to deal with constant fumes of methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and other smellies rising from the mess. But to the surprise of almost everyone, the nation’s Environmental Protection Agency has come to the rescue. The agency, which relies mostly on private donations for its funding, has leveled the heap and turned it into a clean source of energy. In fact, the dump could produce enough methane gas to power 300 homes for the next 30 years. EPA Director General Mohammed al-Sarawi thinks the townspeople should get the energy free “as compensation for years of bad smells.”
