Pennsylvania - A butter sculpture featured in the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show is now being deconstructed and recycled to create renewable energy.

The 1,000 pound sculpture, inspired by America's 250th birthday, depicted the signing of the Declaration of Independence; this year's sculpture was titled “A Toast to Our Nation’s 250th Anniversary: Inspired by Founders. Grown by Farmers." Benjamin Franklin and the Founding Fathers were sculpted alongside the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross. It remained on display throughout the farm show, celebrating American agricultural growth.

The American Dairy Association North East, Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program and the 4-H Club of Dauphin County worked alongside Reinford Farms to dismantle the butter sculpture Sunday.

Roughly four hours later, dairy farmer Brett Reinford then transported the 1,000 pounds of butter to his dairy farm in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.

"We put it in an anaerobic digester, it melts down and creates methane. And from that methane we run renewable generators that produce electricity. That electricity goes out into our community and we're able to power homes locally around our farm," Reinford said.

Reinford Farms has two anaerobic digesters on its 1,100 acres of land. Butter from the sculpture, along with thousands of pounds of additional food waste from nearby retailers, is broken down in the digesters. 

“It’s the perfect example of a sustainable and cyclical operation,” Reinford said in a statement. “Our digesters provide an ideal solution for our farm and retailers to turn waste into energy.”

Over the course of a single year, the American Dairy Association North East says the Reinfords divert close to 60,000 pounds of food waste from landfills.