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The report outlines strategies for municipalities and national authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean to mitigate methane emissions from waste disposal sites through progressive operational improvements and organic waste diversion.

The report outlines technical and operational measures to mitigate methane emissions from landfills in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where waste management emissions accounted for 10,258 kt in 2023. It categorizes disposal sites into dumpsites, controlled landfills, and sanitary landfills, emphasizing that daily operational practices—such as waste compaction, daily cover application, and leachate management—significantly impact emissions even without advanced gas capture infrastructure. The document details specific equipment requirements, slope stability guidelines, and gas collection system designs, noting that while optimal capture efficiencies can exceed 80%, many regional facilities operate between 20% and 60%. Additionally, it advocates for organic waste diversion through composting and anaerobic digestion, drawing on European precedents, and stresses the necessity of multi-level capacity building for operators and policymakers to ensure sustainable mitigation.

The document highlights that waste sector methane emissions are rising rapidly and will outpace fossil fuel and agriculture sector increases by 2050. It argues that national governments must move beyond treating waste as a local sanitation issue to establish national standards and financing. Finally, it asserts that regulatory frameworks must be complemented by public education and incentives to ensure compliance and reduce organic waste at the source.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes approximately 0.5°C to global temperature increases. Human-made sources—including the fossil fuel industry, landfills, livestock, and agriculture—account for about 55% of methane pollution, while natural sources like wetlands and permafrost account for 45%. Mitigation strategies focus on stopping leaks in the oil and gas supply chain, improving landfill waste management, and altering livestock diets. International efforts include the Global Methane Pledge, aiming for a 30% reduction from 2020 levels by 2030, and EU regulations banning venting and flaring. RMI supports these goals through data tools like the Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+), WasteMAP, and the MiQ certification standard.

The author argues that systemic issues, such as confusing date labels and liability concerns for grocers, drive significant food waste in the United States. The text advocates for two bipartisan bills: the Food Date Labeling Act, to standardize date labels and facilitate food donations, and the NO TIME TO Waste Act, to establish a USDA Office of Food Loss and Waste and aim for a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.

The document examines how four countries—Germany, the UK, Japan, and Australia—successfully reduced waste sector methane emissions through a combination of legislation, market-based tools, public education, and voluntary agreements. It highlights a general trend of diverting waste from landfills toward recycling, composting, and incineration, while noting that high-income countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania have seen the most significant progress.

The document highlights the critical role of waste characterization in reducing methane emissions, which account for nearly 20% of global totals. It details available global tools for emissions estimation, examines the varied regulatory approaches to waste data in several Latin American countries, and advocates for the integration of field-based assessments with satellite monitoring to identify methane super-emitters.

The report identifies the waste sector as a critical source of methane in Brazil, primarily due to the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in landfills and open dumps. While Brazil has an ambitious regulatory framework, including the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) and the PLANARES plan, implementation is hindered by financial constraints, lack of technical expertise, and a failure to meet the 2024 deadline for closing open dumps. The document highlights opportunities in biomethane production, organic waste diversion (composting and anaerobic digestion), and international climate financing to help Brazil meet its NDC and Global Methane Pledge commitments.

The document outlines the state of methane emissions in Brazil's waste sector, identifying that 15% of national methane emissions in 2022 came from waste, with 68% of those originating from solid waste disposal. It details the institutional framework, current waste management statistics, and key challenges such as low recycling rates and the persistence of open dumps, while recommending improvements in organic waste treatment, landfill gas recovery, and regulatory enforcement.

The document outlines the transition from traditional first-order decay (FOD) models to advanced monitoring technologies, including handheld analyzers, drones, and remote sensing via aircraft and satellites, to better quantify waste-sector methane emissions. It highlights that up to 80% of these emissions can be eliminated with existing technology, often at low or negative costs. The guide also details international efforts such as the Global Methane Pledge and the LOW-Methane Initiative to drive mitigation and investment.

Colombia is the third largest emitter of waste methane in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the waste sector contributing 22% of national methane emissions. While the country has improved collection and disposal infrastructure, it lacks national policies specifically targeting methane reduction from solid waste. In 2018, the waste sector accounted for 7% of total greenhouse gas emissions, with 52% of those emissions originating from solid waste disposal. Organic waste makes up 70% of the waste stream, yet current tariff systems discourage organic waste diversion by rewarding landfill operators based on waste volume. Key recommendations include developing a national waste methane mitigation strategy, revising tariffs to reflect the costs of organics diversion, and improving data collection on waste flows.

The report outlines how methane contributes to global warming and ground-level ozone, leading to significant respiratory and cardiovascular health risks. It identifies agriculture, energy, and waste as the primary anthropogenic sources of methane and advocates for both transformational system changes and near-term technical solutions to reduce emissions and improve public health.

The plastics industry contributes 3.4 percent of global carbon pollution, driven by a reliance on fossil fuels for production. Decarbonization requires improved carbon accounting, increased renewable energy use, and a transition toward a circular economy to reduce emissions from both production and end-of-life disposal.

The document discusses the role of satellite technology in identifying industrial methane super-emitters to support the 1.5°C temperature goal and the Global Methane Pledge. It introduces a scientific metric called "completeness" and a corresponding tool (SPECT) to help policymakers and industry operators evaluate satellite capabilities for leak detection, methane accounting, and policy design.

The report exposes how the used-clothing trade is used by the Global North to export plastic waste to Kenya. It estimates that over 300 million items of synthetic, unsellable clothing are exported to Kenya annually, leading to severe environmental pollution in the Nairobi River and at dumpsites like Dandora. The investigation highlights the failure of sorting at the source and the role of recycling companies that claim circularity while exporting waste. It recommends the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, eco-design requirements, and a virgin plastic tax to curb overproduction and the export of synthetic waste.

The report exposes how the used-clothing trade from the EU and UK to Kenya is used to export plastic waste, with an estimated 307 million synthetic items becoming waste annually in Kenya. It highlights the failure of sorting processes, the role of recycling companies in exporting unsellable clothing, and the resulting pollution of Kenyan landfills and waterways.

The report establishes a baseline emissions inventory for the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, identifying transportation, agriculture, and residential heating as primary emission sources. It details a methodology aligned with New York State and IPCC guidelines, providing county-level breakdowns and a baseline projection that suggests a slight increase in total emissions by 2050.

The report identifies methane as a critical target for slowing climate change due to its high warming potential and short atmospheric lifetime. It highlights significant discrepancies between 'bottom-up' government estimates and 'top-down' satellite measurements, particularly in the energy sector. The document details mitigation strategies such as leak detection and repair (LDAR) in oil and gas, alternative livestock feeds, and alternate wetting and drying in rice cultivation. It also emphasizes the role of biogas and food waste reduction as cross-cutting solutions for the agriculture and waste sectors.

The document argues that current efforts, including the Global Methane Pledge, are insufficient to meet the 40–45% reduction in methane emissions required by 2030. It proposes a global agreement based on three pillars: an updated monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework; national methane action plans for the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors; and technical and financial assistance for developing countries.

The briefing argues that a comprehensive global methane agreement is necessary to achieve a 40-45% reduction in emissions by 2030 to maintain the 1.5°C warming target. It proposes three pillars of action: an updated monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) framework utilizing satellite technology; national methane action plans targeting the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors; and a system of technical and financial assistance for developing countries. The authors highlight that many mitigation measures, particularly in the energy sector, are low-cost or can be implemented at no net cost.