Solutions

State and U.S. EPA regulators should develop strong, comprehensive regulations for landfills that: 

Raise the bar for landfill operators.  

Much of our landfill methane crisis is driven by lax landfill management practices that operate on an honor system and set the bar for landfill management much too low. Recent research from Industrious Labs reveals that practical improvements to gas collection and landfill cover practices could slash cumulative methane emissions in half by 2050 — yet despite their huge emissions reduction potential and achievability, these practices are too often optional. Regulators should hold landfill operators to stronger standards and require the use of proven best practices in methane mitigation and prevention. 

Close loopholes that allow landfills to slip through the cracks. 

Most landfills emit methane — but today, only landfills that meet poorly designed criteria are required to take common-sense steps like installing gas collection systems to capture methane gas. These insufficient thresholds mean that many landfills go unregulated and are able to get by without adhering to basic best practices. Methane doesn’t care about regulatory thresholds. That’s why regulators should revise thresholds to ensure more methane-generating landfills are held to minimum standards.

Modernize how landfills find and measure methane. 

Because methane is invisible, it’s often hiding in plain sight. Huge advancements in methane-monitoring technology mean that it’s now easier than ever to pinpoint and mitigate large landfill emissions. Despite availability and cost-effectiveness of advanced methane detection tools like drones, satellites, and  fixed sensors,, landfills across the country are relying solely on ineffective, manual monitoring practices that let untold amounts of methane go undetected. Policymakers should require landfills to move into the 21st century by requiring long-overdue technology updates that make methane emissions visible and actionable. 

Tackle the largest polluters. 

Even if we embrace current advanced methane detection technology, data is only as good as what we do with it. When large emission sources, sometimes called “super-emitters”, are identified over landfills, landfill operators aren’t currently required to do anything about them. If a fire department received reports of smoke billowing out of windows, there’s no question that they should be required to respond. Why are large plumes of highly potent greenhouse gas treated differently? Regulators should require landfill owners to turn data into action and address major sources of methane leaks once they’re identified. 

Hold landfills accountable to neighboring communities. 

Nationally, more than 3.2 million people live within one mile of a landfill, disproportionately Black, Indigenous or People of Color, and experience tangible negative health and quality-of-life impacts from the many pollutants that landfill spew alongside methane. Despite being on the frontlines of the problem, communities have little authority over how landfills operate. Regulators must create mechanisms for community members to seek accountability from landfills that don’t play by the rules.