Twenty years ago, nobody would've even considered thinking of something this crazy, mostly because twenty years ago nobody was as concerned with the environment as we are today.  Still, a system that recycles rotting waste from a landfill into reusable energy for a BMW manufacturing plant is absolutely genius.

Sometime in 2012, BMW plans to implement exactly this sort of system at their Rosslyn plant in Pretoria, South Africa.  For over a year, the automaker has been conducting a series studies to see if such a thing was possible, especially on the heels of a similar program that's seen some success here in the states.  About half of the energy used at BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant comes from natural gas created by methane emanating out of trash at local landfills.

Now, it looks like BMW is ready to do the same thing in South Africa, and that country's BMW branch is understandably very excited about this prospect.

"The waste-to-energy project is one of the steps we are taking to fulfill this aspiration, and without putting a timeline on when it will be done, we know we can achieve it," said BMW South Africa MD Bodo Danauer. 

And he's right.  If it's already been done once here, it certainly can be done again somewhere else.  According to the studies that have been performed, the landfills within reasonable traveling distance of the Rosslyn plant could end up producing about 40% of the facility's energy.

"This is a vital step in a process which will see all of the Rosslyn plant's energy requirements supplied from renewable resources in the future," Danauer said.

While BMW dealers all over the world sell the idea of green vehicles to their customers, we should all remember that environmental friendliness comes not only as a result of the cars themselves, but how the cars are made.  BMW of Tampa dealerships like ourselves certainly respect and appreciate these kinds of efforts, because that gives us one more piece of persuasive fodder to convince our world-conscious customers to stick with the best luxury car brand in the world.

Sure, twenty years ago nobody would've thought of all this, but it's not twenty years ago.  It's now, and these sorts of things are important.  We're just happy to see the parent company doing something positive about it.