Local, county officials call on EPA to reduce methane emissions in landfills

In the nation’s push toward decarbonization, the Environmental Protection Agency is missing out on a chance to reduce methane emissions in landfills by not taking action to divert food waste or strengthen regulatory standards, according to a letter signed Tuesday by more than 50 local and county officials representing 18 states.

“Local communities like New Castle County have a front row seat to landfilling, but Delaware is unique where counties can’t change waste management practices. That’s why it’s essential that the EPA step up to better control methane emissions from landfills, while scaling up programs to prevent more food, paper and yard waste from ever ending up in a landfill to begin with,” said Dee Durham, a county council member from New Castle County, De., and chair/co-founder of Zero Waste First State in a statement about the initiative.

Landfills are among the greatest producers of methane gas pollution in the nation, and the leading source in the industrial sector in 37 states, according to the statement. Methane is produced when waste from food, yards, paper, or cardboard decomposes. Nationwide, landfills generate a comparable amount of methane gas to 79 coal-fired power plants. The impact on the natural world is drastic, because methane is about 80 times worse for the environment than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years, the statement continues.

“Cutting methane emissions is one of the most effective ways to slow the pace of global warming,” the letter reads. “Addressing emissions from landfills, the third largest methane source in the U.S., is a critical part of that strategy. Beyond planet-warming methane, landfills emit hazardous air pollutants, odors, and other gases that impact air quality, human health, and quality of life for neighboring communities, many of whom are already vulnerable.”

At the local level, governments are working hard to implement composting programs to reduce waste and keep it out of the landfill. New York City, for example, is in the middle of launching the nation’s largest curbside composting program. The city expanded curbside services to the Bronx and Staten Island in March, and then in Manhattan last month. Several states—including California, Maryland, and Washington—are pursuing methane reduction efforts at the state level and tightening landfill requirements.

But while local leaders are doing their best, there’s only so much they can do.

The letter calls on the EPA to take action federally by creating rules and a roadmap that outlines how local governments can eliminate food and yard waste in landfills by 2040. As a part of that roadmap, the letter highlights a need for grant funding and technical assistance to facilitate “municipally-led waste management alternatives.” Reducing methane can be done through actions like food donations, by converting scraps to animal feed, composting, anaerobic digestion, and other recycling methods, according to the letter.

Along with creating a roadmap, the letter notes the EPA should prioritize proven strategies that can better prevent, detect, and mitigate methane leaks from landfills, standardizing them to cut down on methane gas pollution. The EPA “should prioritize alternatives to landfilling and incineration that maximize benefits for the environment, society, and the economy—helping to address food insecurity, reduce dependence on land-intensive feed crops or carbon-intensive fuels, improve soil health, sequester carbon, and create jobs.”

Local governments represented by officials who signed the letter include Los Angeles County, Calif., Houston and Austin, Tx., Phoenix, Ariz., the city and county of Denver, Colo., Seattle, Wash., Indianapolis, Ind., Ann Arbor, Mich., Fulton County, N.Y., Greenfield, Mass., and Madison, Wisc., among many others.