Full Title: Landfill Methane
Author(s): Rachel Pierson
Publisher(s): Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane in the United States. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), landfill gas (LFG) comprises 17.7 percent of all U.S. methane emissions. Landfill methane in 2011 accounted for 103 million metric tonnes of carbon equivalent released into the atmosphere.1 Methane is a short‐lived climate pollutant with significant warming potential, and over a 20 year period, one ton of methane causes 72 times more warming than one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). Consequently, the mitigation of methane from existing landfills provides important climate benefits.
This paper will address projects that convert captured LFG into electricity, heat or vehicle fuels, and discuss how these projects can be cost‐neutral or produce a profit. To more fully address climate and other environmental issues, it is important to reduce waste overall and expand composting and recycling programs. Cutting landfill disposal rates, however, does not address fugitive methane emitted from existing landfill waste. Capturing even a fraction of these emissions provides important climate and health benefits; converting the gas to energy offers economic savings, diversifies a community’s energy portfolio, and lowers dependence on fossil fuels.