The Texas-based company that owns the Pine Tree Acres landfill in Michigan is moving forward with a $30 million project to convert methane gas from decomposing trash into electricity to power nearly 20,000 homes.

Carl Rush is a senior vice president with Houston-based Waste Management Inc. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports he told an East Lansing audience Tuesday that the company's efforts to convert landfill gas into electricity are part of a broader plan to turn household trash into power.

He says there's "all kinds of potential" to do more than just put trash into landfills.

Earlier this year, massive engines were brought to the Pine Tree Acres landfill site in Macomb County's Lennox Township. They'll use gas produced by the trash to power generators and create electricity.