Managing waste and mitigating climate change go hand in hand because wastes are responsible for a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) emissions. Investing in waste management carbon offsets is one way to both cut down on waste and these emissions. So, we had to ask: What are the pros and cons of waste management carbon offsets?

Waste management carbon offsets reduce methane emissions and pollution, protect the biosphere, and are relatively cost-effective. However, they also are not yet scaled to compensate for our global emissions and can lack additionality.

Keep reading to find out all about what the pros and cons of waste management carbon offsets are, how you can offset your carbon footprint with them, how they can mitigate climate change, and what better alternatives to waste management carbon offsets 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, 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 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. Population growth, consumption, and economic activity influence the amount of waste generated.

Because we all create waste, managing it is vital to the overall health of our planet. 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

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

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.

What Are 5 Pros of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

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

Pro #1: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Reduce Methane Emissions

Waste management offsets reduce methane (CH₄) emissions via landfill gas capture, combustion, or conversion to energy projects.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #1

One of the most common waste management carbon offset projects involves landfill gas, specifically gas capture, combustion, or conversion to energy. CO₂ and CH₄ comprise 90-98% of landfill gasses, which are produced when bacteria break down organic waste (e.g., food, paper, wood, sewage sludge, and yard waste). CH₄ is 25 times more potent than CO₂ at trapping heat in our atmosphere, which exacerbates global warming. 

The amount of CO₂ and CH₄ emissions varies depending on the age, size, and location of the landfill, but landfills can continue to emit these gasses for over 50 years. For example, food waste emits mostly CH₄ and is responsible for 6-8% of global GHG emissions alone, equivalent to 32.6 million cars worth of GHG emissions.

Waste management offsets involving CH₄ gas capture, combustion, or conversion-to-energy prevent CH₄ from entering our atmosphere. Because CH₄ is more potent than CO₂, removing it is a quick way to slow the rate of global warming, at least in the short term.

In short, waste management offsets reduce CH₄ emissions via landfill gas capture, combustion, or conversion to energy projects.

Pro #2: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Reduce Land, Air, and Water Pollution

Waste management offsets combat land, air, and water pollution by reducing the amount entering our ecosystems and eliminating their GHG emissions.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #2

Waste management carbon offsets can target land, air, or water pollution depending on the project. 

• “Land pollution: the deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land or underground in a manner that can contaminate the soil and groundwater, threaten public health, and cause unsightly conditions and nuisances”

Britannica

• “Air pollution: the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects”

Oxford Languages

• “Water pollution: the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, and oceans to the point where the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems”

Britannica

Every year, we contaminate the biosphere by dumping over 2 billion tons of waste including electronics (e-waste), hazardous chemicals, food, and plastic. 50 million tons of e-waste, 400 million tons of hazardous waste, 1.3 billion tons of food, and 350+ million tons of plastic end up either rotting in landfills or polluting our ecosystems.

Waste management carbon offset projects can help reduce pollution because they aim to reduce the amount of waste entering our landfills and ecosystems. Food rescue and recovery projects reduce food waste, recycling projects reduce and repurpose plastic, and landfill gas projects either eliminate CH₄ or convert it to renewable energy.

In short, different waste management projects target different types of pollution (land, air, water) and aim to reduce it together with their GHG emissions. 

Pro #3: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Protect the Biosphere

Waste management offsets improve air quality and protect the biosphere.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #3

Degradation of air quality as a result of carbon emissions is a serious issue. For example, in 2009, the US government declared CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (S_F6) threats to the public health and welfare of current and future generations. 

Removing these harmful emissions from the atmosphere or preventing their release via landfill gas capture and biodigesters would lead to improved public health in terms of asthma, respiratory allergies, airway diseases, and lung cancer. 

Reducing GHG emissions and pollution also promotes healthy ecosystems, which have been linked with cleaner air, water, and food. 

• Protecting forest habitats increases carbon sequestration and defends against erosion. 
• Protecting agricultural land ensures a robust, secure, and prosperous food system. 
• Protecting aquatic ecosystems ensures a readily available supply of fresh water. 
• Lastly, protecting biodiversity protects human health because many plants and animals are used in modern medicines. 

In short, waste management carbon offsets remove GHG emissions from the atmosphere and cut down on pollution, thereby improving air quality and protecting the biosphere.

Pro #4: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Are Relatively Cost-Effective

Waste management carbon offsets are a cost-effective method of carbon emission reduction.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #4

Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12), ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, is an expensive undertaking. It involves reducing waste generation, halving the per capita global food waste, and responsibly managing chemicals, waste, and natural resources. 

Waste management carbon offsets could help finance this process because they are typically more cost-effective than other categories of carbon offsets. For example, waste management carbon offsets from leading providers (e.g., Carbonfund, Terrapass, and Native) cost less than $20 per ton of CO₂ offset. Compare this to direct carbon capture offsets which can cost anywhere from $100-$1,200 per ton of CO₂ offset. 

In short, waste management carbon offsets are relatively cost-effective when compared to other methods of carbon emission reduction.

Pro #5: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Can Help Offset Carbon Emissions That Can’t Be Reduced Otherwise

Waste management carbon offsets allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually. Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #5

Waste Management Carbon Offset Pro #5

We already have governmental-level policies in place to reduce carbon emissions, but carbon offsets allow us to reduce emissions from activities where sustainable alternatives are not yet widely available. 

Carbon offsets are designed for situations where your emissions are impossible to reduce. For example, we can only do so much to reduce our individual carbon footprints. Using public transportation, washing with cold water, and switching from single-use to sustainable products lowers our carbon footprint, but it does not eliminate it completely. This is where waste management carbon offsets come into play, to reduce carbon emissions in other areas as compensation for the remainder of our carbon emissions.

In short, waste management carbon offsets allow us to reduce carbon emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually.

What Are 3 Cons of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

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.

Con #1: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Are Not Yet Scaled to Compensate For Our Global Waste Emissions

Waste management carbon offsets are not yet scaled to compensate for the billions of tons of GHG and waste we emit annually.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Con #1

Carbon offsets in general are currently not sufficient to compensate for all of our carbon emissions. We emit more than 37 billion tons of carbon annually, but carbon offset credits for only ~1 billion tons of CO₂ have been listed for sale on the voluntary market. The number of sellers also exceeds the number of buyers by about 600-700 million tons. Because waste management offsets are only a small subsection of the larger carbon offset market, they are also inadequate in terms of offsetting emissions from our global waste generation.

In addition to the 37+ billion tons of CO₂ we emit every year, we emit approximately 570 million tons of CH₄. We also generate over 2 billion tons of waste including electronics (e-waste), hazardous chemicals, food, and plastic. Experts predict the world’s population will increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years, which means the rate of waste generation and subsequent GHG emissions from waste will continue to increase. 

Finding a way to handle and dispose of waste will be crucial to keeping climate change in check, but waste carbon offsets are not currently scaled enough to handle that load. Increasing the number of landfill gas capture plants while reducing overall waste generation can help, as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 12. 

In short, waste management offsets occupy a small part of the carbon offset market and are not yet scaled to compensate for the billions of tons of GHG and waste we emit annually.

Con #2: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Can Lack Additionality

Waste management offsets often lack additionality because many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Con #2

To be beneficial, waste management offsets must be additional. This means the carbon emissions reductions would not have occurred without intervention.

But waste management projects are often not additional because many projects receiving revenue now would have been built regardless. 

The global waste management market is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2030 due to the increasing rate at which and the amount of waste we generate annually. As the market grows, there has been a push for waste management projects involving food rescue, landfill gas capture, and recycling. The large demand for waste management in general means that the infrastructure could have been built independently of waste management carbon offsets.

In short, additionality is not guaranteed with waste management offsets because many projects are already in high demand and could have been built regardless.

Con #3: Waste Management Carbon Offsets Do Not Reduce Your Own Carbon Emissions

Waste management carbon offsets do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

Waste Management Carbon Offset Con #3

In general, one of the main limitations of carbon offsetting is that purchasing a carbon offset does not directly reduce your carbon footprint. It only makes others reduce their carbon footprint to compensate for your carbon footprint. 

If emissions are only offset and not reduced from the source, this could lead to greenwashing, when the consumer is deceived into thinking they are offsetting their emissions but in reality, they are not. Companies accused of greenwashing either invest in non-verified credits, do not prioritize in-house emissions reductions, or double-count carbon credits. Or sometimes, all of the above.

In short, because waste management carbon offsets do not reduce your own carbon emissions, they could lead to greenwashing.

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

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 reduce methane emissions, reduce land, air, and water pollution, protect the biosphere, are relatively cost-effective, and allow us to reduce emissions in ways we wouldn’t be able to accomplish individually. However, they also are not yet scaled to compensate for our global waste emissions, can lack additionality, and do not reduce your own carbon emissions.

For all of the good carbon offsets can instigate, 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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