Greenhouse Gas Emission from Municipal Solid Waste Treatment in Beijing

Abstract

To evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment/ disposal,this article analyzes the quantities of both direct and indirect GHG emissions from different solid waste treatment/ disposal methods,i.e.,sanitary landfill,composting and incineration based on the survey in Beijing from 2001 -2007,showing that GHG emissions from the waste disposal have soared over the last few years. The total amount of GHG emissions rose from ca. 3.63 million tons of CO2 equivalents in the year 2001 to ca. 11.57 millon tons in 2007. The emission rates for the three different approaches were compared in terms of CO2 equivalent per ton of MSW,which showed that emission rate of composting was the lowest,but its application in Beijing remains at a low level,accounting for less than 7% of the total MSW treated in 2007. On the other hand,landfill in the city generated 0.48 million tons of CH4,which was equivalent to ca. 0.40 million tons of town gas if half of the CH4 could be collected and recycled; and heat and electricity could be recycled from MSW incineration. However,the best approach is MSW reduction from the very beginning from the sources such as household waste sorting and recycling.