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When you throw away organic material like food and yard waste, it often ends up in a landfill, where it emits methane as it decomposes.
LaMair: “Landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the United States.”
Edwin LaMair is with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.
When methane is released to the atmosphere, it contributes to climate change, because it’s a powerful planet-warming gas. In the short term, methane traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide.
Many landfills have to report their methane pollution to the EPA, and in 2021, they reported releasing 3.7 million metric tons.
But LaMair’s group is using satellite data to track methane from landfills, and he says the real number could be much higher than reported.
LaMair: “Recent satellite measurements have shown that actual emissions could be over 6 million metric tons per year.”
So LaMair says to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, it’s critical to reduce this heat-trapping pollution.
For example, landfills could capture the gas, which can be used to produce energy.
And he says people can help reduce methane by sending less food and yard waste to landfills in the first place.
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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