Local officials urge EPA to eliminate organics from landfills by 2040

In a letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, 56 local officials from 18 states have called for organic waste to be phased out of landfills by 2040.   

As a call to action to combat climate change, the letter proposes cutting methane emissions by diverting organics from landfills, the third-largest methane source in the U.S.  

“Without fast action on methane, local governments will increasingly face the impacts of warming temperatures, sea level rise and extreme weather events,” the letter says. “From the recent hurricane in Florida to the heat dome over Phoenix, these conditions are costly for local governments and threaten the lives and wellbeing of our residents.” 

The signatories acknowledge the environmental effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions as well as the structural inequities that cause historically underserved communities to suffer disproportionate impacts of climate change.  

The letter proposes an expansion of grant funding and technical assistance for municipality-led waste management alternatives, including edible food donation, food scrap conversion to animal feed, composting and anaerobic digestion.  

“EPA should prioritize alternatives to landfilling and incineration that maximize benefits for the environment, society and the economy [while] helping to address food insecurity, reduce dependence on land-intensive feed crops or carbon-intensive fuels, improve soil health, sequester carbon and create jobs,” the letter says. 

The letter also urges EPA to update its existing landfill standards to better control harmful emissions. The signatories claim EPA has not kept up with available strategies to prevent, detect and mitigate methane leaks from landfills and request a rulemaking on landfill emissions standards that allows for public feedback and evaluation of costs and benefits of emissions reduction technologies.  

“Through timely federal action on municipal solid waste landfills, the EPA can slash dangerous methane and toxic air pollution, make progress on climate and environmental justice goals and better protect communities across the country,” the letter says. “Curbing landfill methane must be a part of our national climate strategy, and we urge the EPA to act now.” 

Released Oct. 31, the letter was published the day before EPA announced $4.6 million in grant funding to five institutions for research to quantify and mitigate emissions from municipal solid waste landfills.