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Waste Management
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Initiate "Pay-As-Your-Throw" Waste Disposal ProgramsCharging residents for the collection of household trash based on the amount they throw away creates a direct economic incentive to recycle more and generate less waste. Reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills can lower methane emissions. From 1990 to 1995, Mount Vernon, Iowa's Pay As You Throw program cut the amount of trash sent to the landfill by 40 percent, almost doubled the recycling rate, and virtually eliminated disposal of yard waste.
Implement Curbside Recycling Recycling can save energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to extract and manufacture new products and, in the case of paper products, increase carbon sequestered in forests. Recycling also diverts paper, cardboard, and other organic materials from landfills, where they would otherwise decompose and produce methane. In Hillsborough County, Florida, nearly 800,000 tons of CO2 equivalent are avoided each year through the county's comprehensive waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs.
Recycle Office Paper And Reduce Landfill CostsRecycling reduces the energy and materials needed to produce new paper. Methane emissions also are decreased by diverting paper from landfills. In 1998, the town of Littleton, New Hampshire, recycled 68 tons of mixed office paper. If the town had thrown that paper away, disposal and trucking fees would have run $3,876. Littleton's cost for recycling, including all operating and shipping expenses, was $1,020. The town sold the paper for $5,950 to a company in Quebec that manufactures toilet tissue and paper towels. This is the high end. More typical recompense for mixed paper is $10 per ton.
Buy Products Made From Recycled MaterialsRecycled products typically require less energy to produce than new products, and many recycled products cost less than new ones. Items such as recycled plastic lumber also may reduce the user's installation and maintenance costs. In 1998, Metropolitan King County, Washington, saved an estimated $600,000 by purchasing recycled materials such as toner cartridges ($300,000 savings), retreaded tires ($77,000 savings), and shredded wood-waste for temporary road surfaces, landscaping, and erosion control ($65,000 savings).
 Establish Composting ProgramsComposting organic wastes reduces methane emissions and diverts waste from landfills. Under Albuquerque's Green Waste Composting Program, yard and stable waste and stable bedding are composted. The end product is marketed to the community through a local garden center. The program diverts 9,570 tons of waste from the landfill and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 4,626 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
Capture Methane From LandfillsDecomposing trash in landfills produces landfill gas, which is about 50 percent methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane also can be a reliable fuel. Prince George's County, Maryland, installed a methane recovery system at a landfill and uses the methane to provide heat, hot water, and electricity to a nearby correctional facility. The county sells the leftover landfill methane, a renewable energy source, to a utility company. Annual energy revenues are nearly $1.3 million, and methane emissions have been reduced by 45,000 tons-a greenhouse gas reduction equivalent to that achieved by planting almost 83,000 acres of trees.
For more information on the relationship between climate change and waste, visit EPA's Climate Change and Waste website.
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