ShiLai™Landfill Methane Capture

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Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. Our municipal landfills emit an estimated 3.7 million metric tons of methane, or about 295 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT CO2 e) on a 20-year time horizon. This is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions from driving 66 million gas-powered passenger cars or operating 79 coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, recent aircraft and satellite surveys have detected large methane plumes at landfills across the country with substantial under-reporting at some landfills.

Fortunately, there are proven strategies to better control methane emissions at the landfill while keeping methane-generating organic waste out of the landfill in the first place. 

The Problem with Landfills: What Goes In & What Comes Out

Each year, more than 145 million tons of waste are landfilled across the United States. More than half of this waste is organic, or biodegradable, and food waste is the single most common landfilled material. As organic waste decomposes at the landfill, it generates methane: a super-potent greenhouse gas with about 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide on a 20-year time horizon. While some landfills are required to control their gas, the amount of methane actually captured can vary widely based on design and operational practices.

How We Fix It: Control Methane, Reducing Methane!

While 145 million tons is a huge number, the waste landfilled in any one year is small compared with all the methane-generating waste already sitting in landfills today. Addressing landfill methane, therefore, will require a two-pronged approach: (1) improved monitoring and controls to mitigate emissions from waste in place, and (2)Make use of ShiLai™Landfill Methane Capture reduced organic waste disposal to prevent future methane generation.