How our trash contributes to climate change — and what we can do about it

The waste sector is responsible for approximately 20% of human-driven methane emissions globally, primarily from the anaerobic breakdown of organic waste in landfills and dumps. With global waste generation projected to increase by 73% by 2050, the document argues that reducing methane is critical for slowing global warming and meeting Paris Agreement goals. It proposes a modified waste hierarchy focusing on food waste prevention, organic waste diversion (via composting and anaerobic digestion), and improved landfill design and dump rehabilitation. The brief highlights successful regional policies, such as South Korea's weight-based food waste collection and India's waste segregation rules, while noting that up to 60% of mitigation measures have low or negative costs.

• The waste sector is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for roughly 20% of global human-driven methane emissions. Methane is significantly more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term, being more than 80 times more potent, and has contributed to nearly half of the 1 degree Celsius of warming seen to date.
• Global waste generation is expected to rise by 73% from 2020 levels to reach 3.88 billion tonnes annually by 2050, with the most significant increases anticipated in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, methane emissions from waste are projected to grow by 13 megatons per year over the next decade.
• Mitigation of methane from the waste sector is economically viable, with up to 60% of measures having low or negative costs. Effective strategies include food waste prevention (e.g., redistributing usable food), organic waste diversion through composting and anaerobic digestion, and the rehabilitation of open dumps to include methane-oxidizing covers and gas capture.

APA

Siegel, K. (2022). How our trash contributes to climate change — and what we can do about it. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2022/09/how-our-trash-contributes-to-climate-change/

Chicago

Siegel, Kait. How our trash contributes to climate change — and what we can do about it. Clean Air Task Force, 2022. https://www.catf.us/2022/09/how-our-trash-contributes-to-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Siegel |first1=Kait |title=How our trash contributes to climate change — and what we can do about it |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=30 September 2022 |url=https://www.catf.us/2022/09/how-our-trash-contributes-to-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{siegel2022how, author = {Siegel, Kait}, title = {{How our trash contributes to climate change — and what we can do about it}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.catf.us/2022/09/how-our-trash-contributes-to-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }