Landfills around the world release a lot of methane - study
STORY:
Landfills around the world release lots of methane due to decomposing food waste
Source: Science Advances study
A satellite-mounted detector showed high methane levels over cities in India, Pakistan and Argentina
High-resolution satellite images snapped in 2020 revealed the gas was coming from upwind landfills
One Mumbai landfill, for example, was putting out over 94,000 tons of methane per year
Meanwhile a Buenos Aires landfill emitted just under 276,000 annual tons
That’s half of the city's total methane emissions
Landfill waste is responsible for about 11% of global methane emissions
and is expected to increase about 70% by 2050 as the global population continues to climb
Source: World Bank
Mitigation steps might include food composting or capturing the methane for biogas