It´s a Gas: The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is installing an anaerobic biodigester and power generator to convert food and yard waste into heat and electricity for the campus, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

University officials say the biodigester is being built by a Madison, Wis.-based company, BioFerm Energy Systems. The system will cost $3.5 million and will generate between 5% and 10% of the electricity used on campus. Due to the expected savings in energy costs, school officials project that the system will pay for itself in seven to 10 years.

Perhaps most important, school officials say the system will serve as "a living, learning laboratory" to show students how a renewable energy system works.

Bashed Bins Bypassed: The area around the Ohio State University campus in Columbus has a large number of trash bins that are beat up so badly the city´s automated-arm garbage trucks can´t pick them up, so city crews pass them by, leaving trash to pile up and rot, the Columbus Dispatch reports:

"Dozens of 300-gallon trash bins are damaged and spilling trash into the alleys. Many are missing lids. Some are toppled, with split sides. A few are mangled or broken in half. ..."

I can relate, sort of, to residents´ complaints about the city´s slowness in replacing the broken bins. One night a few decades back while visiting friends at OSU, I saw a speeding pickup truck sideswipe two full-to-bursting trash bins in an alley. It was quite a thing to see and hear. Not to smell, though.

I tell you, the more things change ...

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste & Recycling News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.