Grassroonts Recycling Grassroonts Recycling NetworkNetwork

National Recycling and Zero National Recycling and Zero Waste ConferenceWaste Conference

Devens Massachusetts• October 2009

by Peter Anderson, Executive DirectorCenter for a Competitive Waste Industry

A tale of two A tale of two futuresfutures

Where do Where do compostables compostables

belongbelong

Paper31.1%

Food13.6%

Yard9.6%

Wood7.0%

Inorganic38.7%

in U.S. in 1998Components of MSW

Organics=61.3%

GreenwashingGreenwashing

GreenwashingGreenwashing

IgnoredIgnored Most Uncontrolled. More

than 3/4th of the gases produced or mobilized in a landfill are, over its life, released uncontrolled into the atmosphere

Source of methane. There would not be substantial volumes of uncontrolled methane produced from garbage were we to discontinue disposing of our organic discards deep in lined landfills

andand reducing reducing methane is vital to methane is vital to

avoid crossing avoid crossing irreversible tipping irreversible tipping

pointspoints“[F]easible reversal of the growth of

[methane] would provide a vital contribution toward averting dangerous anthropogenic interference with global climate...[Methane] deserves special attention in efforts to stem global warming...Given the difficulty of halting near-term CO2 growth, the only practical way to avoid [dangerous interference] with climate may be simultaneous efforts to reverse the growth of [methane].”

─James Hansen Greenhouse gas growth rates, Nov 16 ‘06 PNAS

A tale of two A tale of two landfillslandfills

Landfill Decomposition

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

Time (yrs)

Anaerobic Bioreactor Landfill

Dry Tomb Landfill (dry site)

Containment Failure

Gas/

Leach

ate

G

enera

tion

5.4

21.7

1.4

5.8

# Times Diversion Gain Exceeds LFGTE

Low-20%

High-78%80% Diversion

20% Diversion

in the Long-Term*Diversion's Advantage Over LFGTE

*GWP=25

15

60

4

16

# Times Diversion Gain Exceeds LFGTE

Low-20%

High-78%80% Diversion

20% Diversion

in the Short-Term*Diversion's Advantage Over LFGTE

*GWP=25

2%

24%

-74%

-28%

-7%

Coll Eff

CH4 Ratio

ICE Destruct

Avoided CO2

Industry

at Existing Landfills in Long-TermEnergy v. Flaring

(Blue bar indicates energy advantageous; red, disadvantageous)

0%

10%

-93%

-42%

-11%

Coll Eff

CH4 Ratio

ICE Destruct

Avoided CO2

Industry

at Existing Landfills in Short-TermEnergy v. Flaring

(Blue bar indicates energy advantageous; red, disadvangeous)

Landfills’ true Landfills’ true impact on impact on

greenhouse gasesgreenhouse gases

2%

8%

12%

EPA VersionCorrected Capture

Considering Short Term

The other future is The other future is to stop burying to stop burying

organicsorganicsEuropean Commission 1999

Landfill Directive “Waste and treatment not

acceptable in landfills. “1. Member States shall set up a

national strategy for the implementation of the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills …not later than 15 years after the date laid down in Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced to 35% of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest year…”

and, in and, in North North

America,America,124 Cities …124 Cities …

HaywardHealdsburgLivermoreMcFarland

ModestoMorgan Hill

NewarkNorth Hollywood

OaklandOro Loma Sanitary

DistrictPetaluma

PleasantonPortola ValleyRohnert Park

San Fernando San Francisco

San Juan Bautista San LeandroSan LorenzoSanta RosaSebastopol

Sonoma (City)Sonoma County

StocktonUnion City

Walnut CreekWindsor

Woodside

Midwest (4)Ann Arbor, MI

Carver County, MN Cedar Rapids, IA

Dubuque, IAHutchinson, MNLinn County, IA

Wayzata, MNNortheast (5)

Cambridge, MACentral VT Waste Mgt.

District Greensboro, VTLewistown, ME

Northeast Kingdom, VT

South (1)Plano, TX

Sarasota, FLWashington (12)

Bellevue, WABellingham, WA

Bothell, WACarnation, WAIssaquah, WA

King County, WAKirkland, WA

Newcastle, WARedmond, WA

Sammamish, WA

Seattle, WA Woodinville, WA

British Columbia (1)Mission

New Brunswick (2)Moncton

FrederictonNova Scotia (41)

Annapolis CountyAnnapolis Royal

Antigonish Argyle

BaddeckBarrington

BerwickBridgetown

Bridgewater Cape Breton

Chester DistrictClare

Colchester CountyCumberland Co.

DigbyGreenwood

Halifax RegionalHants Co.

Inverness Co. Kentville

Kings CountyLawrencetown

Lunenburg Mahone Bay

New Glasgow New Minas Parrsboro Pictou Co.

Port Hawkesbury Queens County

Richmond CountyRiver John Shelburne

Town of Amherst

Town of BerwickTown of Oxford

TrentonVictoria County

Windsor Wolfville

YarmouthOntario (8)

BracebridgeCaledonGuelph

KingstonMarkham

Niagara Region

St. ThomasToronto

Quebec (3)Regie Argenteuil

Chertsey Laval

CarpCarpe e

diemdiem

Contact InformationContact Information

Peter AndersonCenter for a Competitive Waste

Industry313 Price Place ∙ Suite 14Madison, WI 53705-4964

(608) 231-1100Fax (608) 233-0011Cell (608) 444-2817

Toll Free (800) 449-1010anderson@competitivewaste.org