Implications of municipal solid waste disposal methods in China on greenhouse gas emissions

Abstract Waste disposal sector is an important anthropogenic source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; therefore, it is important to accurately estimate GHG budget of waste disposal activities and evaluate its contribution to global GHG emissions. Based on the GHG inventory guidelines provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this study calculated GHGs from the municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal sector (including landfill, incineration, and compost) in China during the period 2002–2017. Overall GHG emission from the MSW disposal sector increased from 30,392.0 Gg CO 2 in 2002 to 76,623.0 Gg in 2017. MSW landfill contributed most to GHG emissions as indicated by the emission share of landfill decreasing from a peak value of 93.5% in 2002 to 65.8% in 2017. GHG emissions from MSW incineration increased rapidly from less than 3.0% in 2002 to 32.8% in 2017. In 2017, East China contributed the most among the seven regions of China, while the Northwest contributed the least. Methane mitigation technologies such as landfill gas to energy projects and functional solid cover utilization are the primary measures for reducing GHG emissions from landfill; conversion of the treatment method from landfill to incineration is another effective measure; MSW sorting and source reduction of waste amounts prior to incineration were also found to be promising strategies.