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