At our current rate of waste generation, the world’s cities will produce over three times more waste than they did in 2009 by 2025. This waste pollutes our ecosystems and generates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that exacerbate climate change. So, we had to ask: What are waste management carbon offsets really, and could they help us mitigate climate change?

Waste management carbon offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that focuses on minimizing waste’s impact on human, animal, and environmental health. They reduce GHG emissions and pollution but may lack additionality and are not yet scaled to compensate for our global waste emissions.

Keep reading to find out all about what waste management carbon offsets are, how they work, how effective and efficient they are, what their pros and cons are, and what the best ones are. At the end of the article, we’ll also share with you how waste management carbon offsets can help mitigate climate change and what better alternatives to them are. 

The Big Picture of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets are reductions in carbon emissions that are used to compensate for carbon emissions occurring elsewhere. They are measured in tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms on what is known as the global carbon offset market. 

“Carbon Offset: a way for a company or person to reduce the level of carbon dioxide for which they are responsible by paying money to a company that works to reduce the total amount produced in the world, for example by reforestation”

Oxford Dictionary

Everyone and everything on Earth creates waste, which is defined as an unwanted or unfavorable byproduct of certain processes. 

“Waste: unwanted matter or material of any type, especially what is left after useful substances or parts have been removed”

Cambridge Dictionary

Waste management is a broad term that refers to the handling of waste in ways that minimize its impact on human, animal, and environmental health.

“Waste Management: The management of waste materials, usually based on the management of wastes at all stages (production, handling, storage transport, processing, and ultimate disposal) in such a way as to minimize the risks to human health, wildlife, and environmental systems.”

Oxford University Reference

One of the main goals of waste management carbon offsets is to reduce the total amount of methane (CH₄), a GHG that is more potent than CO₂ and can accelerate global warming due to its excessive heat-trapping abilities.

What Are Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Waste management offsets are a specific type of carbon offset that focuses on handling waste in ways to minimize its impact on human, animal, and environmental health. 

Waste can be classified as solid, hazardous/nonhazardous, agricultural/animal, medical, radioactive, extraction/mining, oil/gas production, and fossil fuel combustion-waste as well as construction/demolition debris and sewage sludge. Because we all create waste, managing it is important to the overall health of our planet.

“Waste Management: The management of waste materials, usually based on the management of wastes at all stages (production, handling, storage transport, processing, and ultimate disposal) in such a way as to minimize the risks to human health, wildlife, and environmental systems.”

Oxford University Reference

Some of the most common types of waste management carbon offsets involve:

• Landfill gas capture/combustion
• Landfill gas to renewable energy
• Biodigesters 
• Biogas
• Recycling
• Food Rescue
• Composting

How Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Work

Waste management projects reduce greenhouse gas (CO₂ and CH₄) emissions associated with various types of waste by reducing the amount or capturing emissions from waste.

One of the main goals of waste management carbon offsets is to reduce the total amount of methane (CH₄), the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG) behind CO₂ with a global warming potential 25 times more potent than CO₂. Even a little CH₄ can greatly exacerbate global warming and its effects.

How Effective and Efficient Are Waste Management Carbon Offsets

In terms of effectiveness, waste management carbon offsets reduce methane emissions and land, water, and air pollution. However, they can also lack additionality and do not reduce your own carbon emissions. 

In terms of efficiency, waste management carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective. However, they are not yet scaled to compensate for our global waste emissions.

Waste management carbon offsets are effective at mitigating climate change because they:

• Reduce CH₄ emissions via food rescue or CH₄ gas capture, combustion, and conversion-to-energy projects 
• Can help reduce land, air, and water pollution by reducing the amount of waste entering our landfills and ecosystems

Waste management carbon offsets can also lack effectiveness because they often lack additionality, as many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless.

Waste management carbon offsets are efficient at reducing CO₂ emissions because they are relatively cost-effective when compared to other methods of carbon emission reduction.

However, waste management carbon offsets can also lack efficiency because they are not yet scaled to offset emissions from our global waste generation.

Also, waste management carbon offsets do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing. This occurs when emissions are only offset and not reduced from the source, and the consumer is deceived into thinking they are offsetting their emissions but in reality, they are not. This is why we should first reduce our emissions before relying on offsets.

What Are The 5 Pros and 3 Cons of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Waste management carbon offsets reduce methane emissions, reduce land, water, and air pollution, protect the biosphere, are relatively cost-effective, and allow us to reduce emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.

Waste management carbon offsets are not yet scaled to compensate for our global waste emissions, can lack additionality, and do not reduce your own carbon emissions.

What Are the 5 Pros of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Waste management carbon offsets have various pros that make them effective at avoiding carbon and methane emissions.

What Are the 3 Cons of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Understanding the drawbacks of waste management carbon offsets is important in order to effectively mitigate climate change.

How Could You Offset Your Own Carbon Footprint With Waste Management Carbon Offsets

The voluntary carbon offset market (VCM) is where everyday consumers can purchase carbon offsets to offset their carbon emissions. The market for carbon offsets was small in the year 2000, but by 2010 it had already grown to represent nearly $10 billion worldwide. 

The Ecosystem Marketplace predicts the VCM could grow to $50B by the year 2050. And because we dump over 2 billion tons of CH₄ and CO₂-producing waste each year, waste management carbon offsets could prove crucial in the fight against climate change.

How Can Waste Management Carbon Offsets Help Mitigate Climate Change

Climate change is a severe and long-term consequence of fossil fuel combustion. Waste management offsets can help mitigate climate change because they eliminate fossil-fuel-derived CO₂ and CH₄ from our atmosphere which has a higher warming potential than CO₂ and, if left untreated, can remain there for tens of thousands of years and exacerbate the negative effects of climate change.

How is Climate Change Defined

Climate change is arguably the most severe, long-term global impact of fossil fuel combustion. Every year, approximately 33 billion tons (bt) of CO₂ are emitted from burning fossil fuels. The carbon found in fossil fuels reacts with oxygen in the air to produce CO₂. 

“Climate change: changes in the earth’s weather, including changes in temperature, wind patterns and rainfall, especially the increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere that is caused by the increase of particular gasses, especially carbon dioxide.”

Oxford Dictionary

Atmospheric CO₂ fuels climate change, which results in global warming. When CO₂ and other air pollutants absorb sunlight and solar radiation in the atmosphere, it traps the heat and acts as an insulator for the planet. Since the Industrial Revolution, Earth’s temperature has risen a little more than 1 degree Celsius (C), or 2 degrees Fahrenheit (F). Between 1880-1980 the global temperature rose by 0.07C every 10 years. This rate has more than doubled since 1981, with a current global annual temperature rise of 0.18C, or 0.32F, for every 10 years. 

As outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, we must cut current GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. 

How Do Carbon Offsets Generally Help Mitigate Climate Change

Levels of carbon in our atmosphere that cause climate change have increased as a result of human emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today registers at over 400 parts per million. Carbon offsets can help prevent these levels from increasing even more.

When you hear the words “carbon offset”, think about the term “compensation”. Essentially, carbon offsets are reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. 

Carbon offsets that meet key criteria and verified project standards, are additional and permanent, and are part of projects carried out until the end of their lifespan have the best chance of reducing carbon emissions and climate change. 

When we offset CO₂ we also slow the rate of global temperature rise, which in turn minimizes the effects of climate change. 

How Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Specifically Help Mitigate Climate Change

Waste management carbon offsets can specifically help mitigate climate change because they primarily target CH₄ emissions, which are the second-most abundant GHG after CO₂ and are 25 times more potent than CO₂ at trapping heat in our atmosphere. Higher levels of CH₄ speed up and exacerbate the effects of global warming (e.g., sea level rise, melting of glaciers, temperature rise). 

As outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, we must cut current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CH₄, by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. Waste management offsets are important to meet these targets because they curb CH₄ and carbon emissions that, when emitted, can remain in our atmosphere for tens of thousands of years.

What Are Better Alternatives to Waste Management Carbon Offsets

If used correctly, waste management carbon offsets can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits beyond reducing carbon emissions. They have the potential to instigate meaningful environmental change and begin to reverse some of the effects of climate change. 

However, we can’t let this method be a guilt-free way to reduce carbon emissions. Waste management carbon offsets must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures to reduce GHG emissions long-term. 

These reduction measures don’t have to involve drastic changes either. Actions that may seem small can have a big impact because those small changes add up! You can reduce your carbon footprint in three main areas of your life: household, travel, and lifestyle. 

Reduce your household carbon footprint:

• Wash with cold water: Washing clothes in cold water could reduce carbon emissions by up to 11 million tons. Approximately 90% of the energy is used to heat the water, so switching to cold saves also saves energy.

• Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs: Fluorescent bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent ones, saving energy and thus reducing electricity demand and GHG emissions.

Reduce your travel carbon footprint:

• Fly less: Aviation accounts for around 1.9% of global carbon emissions and 2.5% of CO₂. Air crafts run on jet gasoline, which is converted to CO₂ when burned.

• Walk or bike when possible: The most efficient ways of traveling are walking, bicycling, or taking the train. Using a bike instead of a car can reduce carbon emissions by 75%. These forms of transportation also provide lower levels of air pollution.

Reduce your lifestyle carbon footprint:

• Switch to renewable energy sources: The six most common types of renewable energy are solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass energy. They are a substitute for fossil fuels that can reduce the effects of global warming by limiting global carbon emissions and other pollutants.

• Recycle: Recycling uses less energy and deposits less waste in landfills. Less manufacturing and transportation energy costs means fewer carbon emissions generated. Less waste in landfills means less CH₄ is generated.

• Switch from single-use to sustainable products: Reusing products avoids resource extraction, reduces energy use, reduces waste generation, and can prevent littering.

• Eat less meat and dairy: Meat and dairy account for 14.5% of global GHG emissions, with beef and lamb being the most carbon-intensive. Globally, we consume much more meat than is considered sustainable, and switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet could reduce emissions. 

• Take shorter showers: Approximately 1.2 trillion gallons of water are used each year in the United States just for showering purposes, and showering takes up about 17% of residential water usage. The amount of water consumed and the energy cost of that consumption are directly related. The less water we use the less energy we use. And the less energy we use, the less of a negative impact we have on the environment.

Because waste management carbon offsets are an indirect way and not a direct way of reducing emissions, they alone will not be enough to reduce global carbon emissions significantly. Direct measures of emission reductions, such as reducing individual energy use and consumption, are better alternatives to these offsets. 

Final Thoughts

Waste management carbon offsets help avoid carbon and methane emissions by reducing various sources of waste and thereby reducing the emissions from the waste. They are relatively cost-effective, protect the biosphere, and reduce land, water, and air pollution. However, they can lack additionality and are not yet scaled to compensate for our global waste generation.

The top waste management offset companies support third-party verified projects involving landfill gas, biodigesters, recycling, food rescue, and composting. But although waste management offsets can instigate meaningful change, they should not be seen as the only solution to climate change. They are effective at reducing CO₂ in the short term, but in the long term, they fail to reduce CO₂ enough. 

When used in conjunction with direct CO₂ reduction measures, carbon offsetting can be much more effective. We should reduce our own carbon footprint as much as possible first, and only then choose the most effective waste management carbon offsets.

Stay impactful,

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