Will Waste Diversion make a Difference in Greenhouse Gas Emissions? An Analysis of Methane Generation in Canadian Landfills

摘要

For the Kyoto protocol, Canada promised to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions to six percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Focusing on GHG from landfills, modeling shows that a serious shift in waste policy is required to reduce methane emissions to below 1990 levels, but that it is possible. If no action is taken, methane emissions will continue to rise exponentially into the future, reaching more than ten times 1990 levels to an estimated 120 kt by 2030. To see the impact on GHG, different diversion rates were applied in methane generation models to show future scenarios for methane generation. Although, 25% waste diversion would yield an immediate observable dip in GHG emissions, the decrease in methane emissions doesn't reach 1990 levels. Waste diversion of 50% would result in methane emissions very close to 1990 levels in 2005 but emissions would rebound again to surpass current levels in 2015. A 75% waste diversion would reach the goal of 6% below 1990 methane emissions being achieved. Nova Scotia's provincial ban on organics in landfills provides a model that would be successful to obtain this level of diversion. However, further action is needed to both reduce waste generation and recover methane from landfills to minimize methane emissions.