Every year we dump billions of tons of waste into our environment. Experts estimate the waste management industry could be worth upwards of $1.9 trillion by 2030. Pairing waste management with carbon offsets could help reduce pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 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. Waste management projects reduce CO₂ and CH₄ emissions immediately either via direct elimination or avoidance. 

Keep reading to find out all about what waste management carbon offsets are, how they work, what their project life-cycle is, how effective they are, their pros and cons, and how they can help mitigate climate change.

The Big Picture of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets play an important role in mitigating the effects of global climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions beyond what we each can achieve through individual actions. Waste management carbon 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. 

What Are Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets are reductions in GHG emissions that are used to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. They are measured in tons of CO₂ equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms.

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. 

How Are Carbon Offsets Defined

Carbon offsets play a crucial role in reducing our carbon footprint, the amount of CO₂ emissions associated with an individual or an entity. 

“Carbon footprint: the amount of greenhouse gasses and specifically carbon dioxide emitted by something (such as a person’s activities or a product’s manufacture and transport) during a given period”

Merriam Webster

Basically, a carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emitted by an activity or an organization. This includes GHG emissions from fuel that we burn directly (e.g., heating a home, driving a car) and GHG emissions from manufacturing the products that we use (e.g., power plants, factories, and landfills). 

One way to reduce our carbon footprint is via the use of carbon offsets. These are reductions in GHG emissions that are measured in tons of CO₂ equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms. 

“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 planting trees”

Oxford Dictionary

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 can range anywhere from a couple of hundred tons of CO₂ per program per year to thousands of tons of CO₂ per program per year. 

How Are Waste Management Carbon Offsets Defined

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 carbon offsets support those projects that handle various wastes in ways that minimize their 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

How Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Work

Waste management carbon offsets eliminate and avoid CO₂ emissions because the projects either capture emissions from waste or reduce the total amount of waste. And because waste generates large amounts of CO₂ and CH₄, the less waste we create, the fewer GHGs are emitted.

Some of the most common energy-efficiency projects target landfills, food rescue, and recycling. Overall, these projects reduce CH₄ emissions, reduce pollution, create healthier ecosystems, and mitigate climate change. 

How and When Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

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 Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Waste management carbon offsets either eliminate CO₂ and CH₄ emissions via landfill gas capture, biodigesters, or biogas, or they avoid emissions via composting, recycling, or food rescue. By reducing the total amount of waste we create and eliminating the GHG emissions it generates, we can reduce the amount of CO₂ and CH₄ entering our atmosphere. 

When Do Waste Management Carbon Offsets Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Waste management carbon offsets either eliminate or avoid emissions immediately by either capturing emissions from waste or reducing the amount of waste. This leads to immediate reductions in atmospheric GHGs and climate change mitigation.

When comparing them to other methods of carbon removal like planting trees, we find that waste management practices reduce emissions faster and more permanently. 

• For example, a newly planted tree could take upwards of 20 years to capture the amount of CO₂ that most carbon offset programs promise. 
• Also, there is always the risk of, e.g., droughts, wildfires, tree diseases, and deforestation wiping out newly planted trees, negating any carbon reduction benefits. 

What Could Prevent Waste Management Carbon Offsets From Being Realized

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

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 large demand for waste management in general means that the infrastructure could have been built independently of waste management carbon offsets.

Carbon offsets in general are currently not sufficient to compensate for all of our carbon emissions. And 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. 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 safely dispose of the billions of tons of waste we create will be crucial.

Lastly, 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.

What Is the Project Life-Cycle of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

To fully understand waste management offsets, we must assess each stage of its life cycle. This life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and materials. Over the years, companies have strategically used LCA to research and create more sustainable products. So, we had a look at the LCA for waste management offsets! 

Building of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

The building of waste management offsets includes building the technology and implementing the various waste management mechanisms. 

The first step in building landfill gas waste management projects is to build a landfill gas power plant. Building the components in a landfill gas plant requires machinery that emits CO₂. The knockout pots, filters, blowers, coolers, compressors, boilers, oxidizers, and piping systems are all components that have a carbon footprint.

The first step in building biogas waste management projects is to build a biogas power plant. Building the components in a biogas plant requires machinery that emits CO₂. The reception area, biodigesters, and gas holders are all components that have a carbon footprint.

Recycling, food rescue, and composting projects also require facilities, but they require less sophisticated machinery. This makes the carbon footprint of this phase very low.

Operating and Maintaining Waste Management Carbon Offsets

There are very few emissions or waste products associated with operating and maintaining waste management projects, making the carbon footprint of this phase low.

The process of landfill gas capture itself does not emit CO₂. But landfill gas capture plants require wells with plastic piping to be drilled into the landfill and, if not drilled properly, the wells could leak CH₄ emissions into the surrounding earth. Landfill gas combustion involves burning CH₄ to create CO₂ and water, because CO₂ has less of a global warming potential than CH₄. And using landfill gas to generate energy can create waste emissions that are typically burned to eliminate them.

Biogas plants go through pre-treatment, fermentation, biogas production, residue formation, and impurity elimination phases. Biogas formation is a zero-waste system of eliminating waste from landfills because the byproducts (residues) are collected and used as fertilizers. The combustion of biogas does release CO₂, however, the amount is much less when compared to fossil fuels. 

Operating and maintaining recycling, food rescue, and composting projects creates very little carbon emissions because they require little technology and therefore maintenance for the projects to run effectively.

End-of-Life of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

The end-of-life of waste management offsets would include the end-of-life of the technology or anything that negates the project’s effectiveness.

Landfills themselves have an average life expectancy of anywhere from 30-50 years, depending on the type of landfill, temperature, compaction, and moisture content. Most landfill gas is produced within the first 20 years after waste is dumped, with smaller quantities of gas being emitted for up to 50 years. So long as the landfill is in operation, the gas can be captured and repurposed. 

Biogas power plants have a historical life expectancy of 20-30 years. CO₂ emissions at this stage occur when utilizing construction equipment to demolish the buildings and construct new buildings in the old power plant’s place. 

Recycling, food rescue, and composting projects also have long life expectancies because they are processes that can keep occurring so long as we generate waste. They require little technology and maintenance for the projects to run effectively.

The Seneca Meadows Landfill Gas Project: An Example Project of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Seneca Meadows, Inc. was established in 1983 as a waste management and recycling facility. Today, they provide gas to energy, solid waste management, tire/e-waste/residential/Christmas tree/battery recycling, and renewable natural gas services.

The Seneca Meadows Landfill is the largest non-hazardous waste facility in the state of New York (US). In 1995, Archaea Energy established a landfill gas-to-energy system on the site, which captures CH₄ from waste. The captured CH₄ is then piped to a landfill gas recovery facility, where it is either used to generate renewable energy or is converted into CO₂.

To date, the project has helped power nearly 20 thousand homes with renewable energy and has created 420 acres of wetlands, which now harbor endangered species.

The Seneca Meadows Landfill Gas project is certified by the American Carbon Registry and Verified Carbon Standard. You can support the project by going to Native Energy or Carbonfund’s websites and purchasing your carbon offsets.

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.

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 The 5 Pros and 3 Cons of Waste Management Carbon Offsets

Waste management carbon offsets reduce methane emissions, reduce 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.

Related: Are you interested in learning more about the pros and cons of waste management carbon offsets? Check out the full article here: “Waste Management Carbon Offsets: All 5 Pros and 3 Cons Explained”

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.

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 are a specific type of carbon offset that either eliminate the GHG emissions from waste or reduce the amount of waste entering our environment. They are relatively cost-effective and protect the biosphere by reducing overall pollution and CH₄ emissions. 

Although waste management carbon 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. Offsets, in general, also do not reduce your own carbon emissions, which can lead to greenwashing.

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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