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Greenhouse Gas UpdateChuck White
Director of Regulatory Affairs Waste
Management/West
The History of Solid Waste Management in the United
States*• Prior to the
1970s– Sanitary landfills
rare– Wastes were
dumped and burned to reduce volume
– Waste incinerators had no pollution control or energy recovery
– Minimal recycling or source reduction
• Major Changes Include– Source reduction &
recycling – Composting of yard
waste – Integrated and regional
solutions for solid waste – “Waste-to-energy”
facilities with minimal environmental burden
– Adoption of “Sanitary” landfilling practice
• Control landfill gas• Leachate recirculation
and other liquids to promote faster decomposition
*Weitz K.A. et al (2002) The Impact of Municipal Solid
Waste Management on GHG Emissions in the United States
Overall GHG Reductions for Solid Waste Management –
All Sources
1974 1980 1990 2000
52 MMTCE Avoided
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1974 Technology Path
Actual Technology Path
MM
TC
E
Solid Waste Management GHG Sources and Sinks
Sink
Source
Source
Sink
?Source
Sink
EPA Landfilling Mass Balance
Third Edition: October 2006Chapter 6: Two Key
Landfilling Principles
• CH4 Emissions are Anthropogenic, CO2 Emissions Biogenic
• Incomplete Decomposition in Anaerobic Landfill Carbon Storage is Anthropogenic Sink – CO2 otherwise occurs
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/SWMGHGreport.html
A Lifecycle Analysis of GHG Sources and Sinks
Carbon Inputs to Solid Waste
Landfill
Landfill Carbon:~ 24% as CH4~ 24% as CO2~ 52% Storage
(Lignins, Undecomposed Cellulose, and Hemi-cellulose)
52%
24% <1%24%
What About CA Landfills?
(As reported in MMCO2E)
Inventory 1990 1995 2000
2002 CEC 16.9 16.6 13.2 (1999)
2005 CCAT 16.9 16.6 20.7 (4.3%)
2005 CEC 10.0 9.8 9.9 (2.1%)
2006 CECEmissions 8.1 7.9 8.0 (1.7%)
Sequestration 8.5 6.4 5.5
Total (0.4) 1.5 2.5 (0.5%)Estimated 2000 Gross CA Emissions = 477
What About Landfill Carbon
Sequestration?Is it Real?• Well documented in technical literature
– Lignins & hemi-cellulose in anaerobic landfill– ~ 50% of the total Biogenic Carbon in Waste
• Latest CEC GHG Inventory for 2004– Landfill Methane Emissions: + 8.45 MMTCO2E– Landfill Carbon Storage: - 6.88 MMTCO2E
• Only includes lignin lumber and yard trimmings
• Other Sources of Lignins in Solid Waste– Food, Cardboard, Paper– Actual LF Carbon Storage?: - 14.8 MMTCO2E
• Twice previous estimates and more than offsets CH4
California Landfill Biomass and
Greenhouse Gas EmissionsWaste Component % of
Waste Stream
2003 Tons Disposed
Landfill CH4
(MTCE/ton)
LF Carbon Storage
(MTCE/ton)
Recycling & Composting (MTCE/ton)
Million BTUs/Ton
Avoided CO2 @ 20% Energy Eff. (MTCE/ton)
Various Papers 15.40 6,133,840 -0.40 0.22 0.65 14.3 0.22
Food 14.60 5,854,352 -0.44 0.02 0.06 4.7 0.07
Lumber 9.60 3,881,214 -0.32 0.38 0.06 18.8 0.26
Cardboard 3.60 2,312,147 -0.69 0.22 0.83 14.1 0.22
Leaves and Grass 4.20 1,696,022 -0.22 0.14 0.06 5.6 0.09
Prunings/Trimmings 2.30 920,356 -0.36 0.31 0.06 5.6 0.26
Branches/Stumps 0.30 119,754 -0.36 0.31 0.06 18.8 0.26
Total 52.00 20,917,685 -0.44 0.21 0.28 10.8 0.16
Total MSW Disposed 100.00 40,235,328
What is WM Doing About GHGs Now?
• Voluntary GHG Reductions – CCX– Charter Member– 6% reduction for 2003 – 2010
• Carbon Neutrality Donations– 2002 Winter Olympics– 2004 Houston Super Bowl– 2006 Harvard Business School – Offset Match !!
• California Climate Action Registry– WM first SW company to join– Pending Development of SW Protocols– First CA-wide report for 2006 by Aug. 2007
Climate Climate Neutral !!Neutral !!}
In Summary . . .
It’s going to be another busy and interesting
The Solid Waste Industry Has Made Tremendous Reductions in GHG Emissions -- More Than Any Other Industry
Better Models for Estimating LFG GHG Emissions/Sinks
Landfill Mass Balance: Recognition of LF carbon sequestration?
GHG controls will maximize capture & use of landfill gas
Waste-to-Energy LFG to Energy/Fuel Revitalized
GHGs will Drive Recycling and Waste Reduction Initiatives
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