By Matt Morrison, Los Angeles Times.

The proverbial link between trash and treasure has evolved into a symbiotic relationship between energy and efficiency with the coming of a renewable-energy power plant to Irvine's Bowerman Landfill.

The Bowerman Power Project went into operation this week, converting methane gas, a byproduct of landfill trash, into enough electricity to power 26,000 homes.

With Bowerman joining the Olinda Landfill in Brea and the Prima Deshecha Landfill in San Juan Capistrano as a renewable-energy site, all of Orange County's major waste-disposal facilities now have gas-to-electricity plants.