Earth Day 2021 Series Day 17: Where Does Organic Waste End up?

April 17, 2021

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by Ahmed Abdellah and Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced BiofuelsUSA) Organic waste from homes and facilities typically ends up in a landfill decomposing and releasing methane into the atmosphere. Methane is known as a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Do you know any solutions to this problem?

Recent advances in landfill management are allowing for the methane that is generated to get captured and burned for energy to produce electricity or cleaned up to make renewable natural gas to fuel vehicles. These developments are known as alternative waste treatment (AWT).

Wastewater treatment is also extremely important. If wastewater is not properly managed, the environment, as well as human health can be impacted severely. Solving this problem can have benefits such as energy and fuel production.

Other solutions are: recycling, composting and source reduction.

This image illustrate the relationships of different waste management strategies from the most preferred, source reduction, to the least preferred, landfilling.

Source Reduction- reducing the amount of waste generated in the first place, reducing the amount of waste that will need to be thrown away.

Source reduction can be impacted by both manufacturers and consumers. Manufacturers can limit the amount of waste generated by ensuring that they do not overproduce chemicals or products throughout the manufacturing process and by paying attention to their packaging. By doing this, nonrecyclable materials won’t be overproduced and thus, they will not end up in landfills.

Furthermore, consumers can strive to mindfully purchase non-disposable materials or even groceries. Many people may overpurchase products and thus end up having to throw them away. This is held true in several industries including technology, food, and clothing. Being mindful of the number of products we purchase and consume is an essential way to participate in source reduction.

Recycling- recovery of reusable materials such as paper, glass, plastic, and metals from the trash and using them to make new materials. This reduces raw materials needed to produce new products.

Composting- recovery of organic waste and carbon waste to fertilize and improve soil nutrient levels. Composting is typically a process where food waste from households, groceries and restaurants can be combined with industrial and yard waste (such as woodchips or sawdust) to decompose into highly nutritious soil.

Landfills- areas designed to place waste into the ground. Landfills are typically heavily monitored and due to the anaerobic properties of the system, the organic waste gets turned into methane. This methane then gets released into the atmosphere, where it serves as a potent greenhouse gas. Recently, developments have been made to capture the released methane and instead burn it for fuel.

Transfer Stations- where municipal solid waste is unloaded from collection vehicles and reloaded for long-distance transport

The Impacts

Recycling and composting prevented 87.2 million tons of materials from ending up in landfills or other waste collection regions in the US. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, this prevented 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air in 2013.

Wastewater treatment

Wastewater treatment is extremely important. If wastewater is not managed appropriately, then the environment, as well as human health, can be impacted severely. Wastewater is derived from used water from domestic, industrial, and commercial sources.

Primary Treatment

Solids settle and are filtered from the wastewater
Solids are removed

Secondary Treatment

Purification of waster
Uses biological processes

Waste water treatment can result in biofuels and biogas.

For example, Lincoln, Nebraska’s wastewater treatment plant has been upgraded to convert biogas to renewable natural gas for vehicles.

“With this project completed, we are now actively creating vehicle fuel that is currently being sold on the national market. This upgrade is estimated to generate $2.6 million every year, recouping our costs in just over three years. The revenue will help to fund operations and further system improvements,” explained Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.

What can you do?

Compost your residence organic waste;
Recycle all materials that you can;
Contact your local city hall to demand a waste plan that includes all the options described here;
Demand that your city's landfill manage their methane to produce energy.

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*Ahmed Abdellah (Advanced Biofuels USA) is a current senior at Howard High School and a rising freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. His main project over the past two years has involved planning for the integration of biodiesel in Howard County’s school bus system. Furthermore, at his internship at the University of Maryland, he conducts research on Microbial Fuel Cell usage and its applications for space energy. He hopes to continue to spread awareness on the use of biofuels and waste-to-energy technologies to help mitigate climate change.

Joanne Ivancic serves as executive director of Advanced Biofuels USA.