Landfill Gas Production

Foodscraps and compostable paper generated by business and residences accounts for approximately 20,000 tons of waste annually in the City of Santa Barbara. This represents 27% of all franchised trash currently disposed in Tajiguas landfill. When foodscraps, greenwaste, and other organic materials are buried in landfills, they decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) and become substantial climate change and air pollution contributors by producing methane (CH 4) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) 1.  Landfills are the largest source of human produced methane, and 34% 3 of total methane generation in the United States. Methane is 72 times 2 more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide (CO2), and is thus a significant contributor to climate change. Compost produces only a fraction of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) when compared to the landfilling organic material, and no detectable methane. Composting is a cost effective way to mitigate these impacts, while simultaneously producing a nutrient laden amendment critical to healthy soil.

Themelis, Nickolas J. Ulloa, Priscilla A. Methane generation in landfills
Renewable Energy, Volume 32, Issue 7, June 2007, Pages 1243-1257
2 Fitzgerald, Garrett. Parra, Maria. Ramel, Alex. An Analysis of the Issues Involved in Landfill Gas Recovery Rates.

ICLEI. 2007.

3 United Nations Environment Programme. Climate Change 2001: Technical summary. http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/017.htm