Role of Sustainable Waste Management in Reducing …“We therefore commit to further reduce, reuse...
Transcript of Role of Sustainable Waste Management in Reducing …“We therefore commit to further reduce, reuse...
Role of Sustainable Waste Management
in Reducing GHG EmissionsClean Air Council
February 2019
Sustainable Materials Management
The EPA and the EU have ranked the most environmentally sound strategies for
municipal solid waste. Source reduction (including reuse) is the most preferred
method, followed by recycling, energy recovery, and, lastly, treatment and
disposal.
http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/hierarchy.htm http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/framework/index.htm
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The United States gets a Failing Grade...
Spittelau Waste-to-Energy Facility, Vienna, AustriaNew facility being built in Copenhagen, Denmark
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New Jersey’s Waste Disposal
• Total MSW generation of 9.6 million tons
• 42% recycling rate or 4.0 million tons
• 5.6 million tons remain after recycling
▪ 1.5 million tons to in-state EfW
▪ balance to NJ landfills and exported out of state, mostly to
landfills
▪ NJ’s MSW landfills accepted 3.2 millions tons in 2015
• 4.1 million tons being landfilled or ~75% of
waste after recycling
▪ Renewable material & energy resource going to waste
Sources: Solid Waste and Recycling Page 1- Updated 8/2017 Environmental Trends Report,
U.S. EPA GHG Reporting Data (flight, https://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp) 4
GHG Benefits of Energy from Waste
U.S. EPA
“[EfW] generates a renewable energy
source and reduces carbon emissions by
offsetting the need for energy from fossil
sources and reduces methane generation
from landfills.”https://www.epa.gov/smm/energy-recovery-combustion-
municipal-solid-waste-msw
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Lifecycle GHG Comparison: Major Electricity Sources
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Determining the Biogenic Fraction: Radiocarbon Analysis
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(a) EPA GHG Reporting Rule
(b) Proposed AP 42 identifies 171 characteristic air pollutants from landfills including 42 Title III
hazardous air pollutants.
EfW Landfill
Regulation 40 CFR 60 Subparts Eb
and Cb
40 CFR 60 Subparts
WWW, AAA and Cc
Annual Test 10 Pollutants – PM, HCl,
Pb, Cd, Hg, Dioxin,
Fugitive PM, SO2, CO,
NOx
1 Pollutant - NMOC (b)
Monitoring Continuous: 4 Pollutants
- Opacity, SO2, NOx, CO
Quarterly: 1 Pollutant -
Surface methane
GHG Yes – CEMs + Biogenic
Testing
No
Comparison of Regulatory Approaches
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Landfills are the 3rd largest global source of CH4
Source: Global Methane Initiative https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/analysis_fs_en.pdf
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Source Year GWPTime Horizon
(years)
IPCC 2nd Assessment 1995 21 100
IPCC 3rd Assessment 2001 23 100
IPCC 4th Assessment 2007 25 100
Shindell et al. 2009 34 100
IPCC 5th Assessment 2013 28 / 34 100
IPCC 5th Assessment 2013 84 / 86 20
Many still refer to outdated methane GWPs of 21 or 25.
Increasing Trend in Methane GWP
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LFG Collection: Lifetime v. Instantaneous
Instantaneous
• Applies to a point in time:
of the gas generated right now,
how much is collected?
• EPA longstanding default = 75%,
industry asserts much higher.
• Does NOT account for changes
in efficiency over time OR
periods of no collection fully
allowed by current regulations.
Lifetime Efficiency
• Answers the question: of the methane generated over the life of waste in a
landfill, how much is collected?
• Necessary for life cycle analysis & waste management comparisons,
although instantaneous values (i.e. the 75% default) are often misused
(including in a current EPA tool)
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Basis Flux Chambers1st Order Decay
ModelDirect Plume
measurement from air1st Order Decay Model
% of LF Measured <0.02%, Total N/A 100% N/A
Gas Collection Efficiency Calculated: 95.8% Assumed: 86% Calculated: 76% Assumed 75%
• Puente Hills landfill
subject to CARB
requirements, far stricter
than current NSPS.
• Actual NOAA
measurements found
emissions significantly
higher than those
calculated using EPA
GHG reporting
methodology
Sources: Peischl et al. 2013, Shan et al. 2012, EPA flight database
Uncertainty in Landfill Methane Emissions
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Most Recent Data: L.A. Basin CH4 Mapping
• Four major
landfills coincident
with CH4 hotspots
• “Top-down”
inventory
consistent with
earlier studies
• Greater than CH4
emissions in
CARB “bottom-up”
inventory
Puente Hills
Savage Canyon
Olinda Alpha
Scholl Canyon
Source: Wong et al. (2015) Mapping CH4:CO2 ratios in Los Angeles with CLARS-FTS from
Mount Wilson, California, Atmos. Chem. Phys.,15, 241-252,2015.
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Peischl et al. L.A. Basin Study:
Flight Path & Measurement Details
• NOAA aircraft flew directly downwind
of landfills
• Upstream sources insignificant
relative to landfill emissions
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Orange County Voice [N.C.] Press Release on
Study:
• “For landfills/landfill sections with final
cover/caps as proscribed by USEPA regulation,
the report found ‘the data collected does not
support [emphasis added] the use of [methane]
collection efficiency values of 90% or greater as
has been published in other studies.’ "
• “The landfill sites studied with temporary covers
showed that methane capture ranged from 40-
80% with the average being 62%, versus
industry claims of 75%.”
• “Measurements of uncontrolled toxic mercury
emissions were 3 - 9 times greater than
estimated an earlier 2008 EPA landfill study.”
Measuring Landfill Emissions: U.S. EPA Study
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GHG Benefits of EfW: International Recognition
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GHG Benefits of EfW: International Recognition
• U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan
• U.S. EPA Scientists: “If the goal is greenhouse gas reduction, then
WTE should be considered an option…”
• European Environment Agency: “As recycling and incineration with
energy recovery are increasingly used, net greenhouse gas emissions
from municipal waste management are expected to drop considerably by
2020”
• IPCC: WTE recognized as a “key GHG mitigation technology”
• Rio UN Conference: “We therefore commit to further reduce, reuse and
recycle waste (3Rs), and to increase energy recovery from waste”
• Davos World Economic Forum: WTE included in the list of 10 low-
carbon energy technologies
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EU: Translating Sustainable Waste Management into GHG Success
EEA Briefing, “Better management of municipal waste will reduce greenhouse gas emissions”
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Carbon Offsets
• Clean Development Mechanism– Over 40 EfW projects registered
– Combined annual GHG reduction of 5 million
metric tons of CO2e per year
• Voluntary Market (VCS)
Lee County, FL
– First EfW facility in North America to generate
carbon offset credits
– Validated & 1st verification - 2009
Hillsborough County, FL
– Validated & 1st verification – 2011
H-Power (Honolulu)
– Validated – 2014
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EfW under the EPA Clean Power Plan
• Excluded from Regulation
– Stack CO2 emissions do not count against state
mass goals
– EfW facilities do not have an emission rate requirement
• Eligible to generate Emission Rate Credits (ERCs)
– New capacity added after 2012 can generate ERCs for
states with rate-based plans
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Energy Recovery Comparison of Waste Management Options
Source: U.S. EPA (2016) Waste Reduction Model, Version 14
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Putting the Benefits into Perspective
Background
• 2004 Drs. Pacala and Socolow (Princeton)
introduced the stabilization triangle
• 7 gigaton of carbon per year (7 GtC/yr)
reduction needed by 2054 versus BAU
• Seven wedges together would stabilize
world-wide greenhouse gas emissions at
today’s emission rate
Global Results – the “Waste Wedge”
• 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon.
Equivalent to: ✓Closing 1000 large coal-fired power plants
✓Building 2 million 1MW wind machines
✓Doubling our nuclear power plant capacityS. Pacala et al., Science 305, 968 -972
(2004)
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•GHG Savings
3.3 million tons CO2e
≈ pulling 640,000 cars off the road
or replacing over 100 million
incandescent light bulbs with LEDs
• Energy Savings
equivalent of 1,600 GWh of electricity
≈ the energy in 16,000 tanker trucks of
fuel oil
* Does not sum to 100% due to rounding
Business as
Usual*
Sustainability
Scenario
Recycling 41.7% 65%
EfW 15.6% 25%
Landfill 42.7% 10%
What if New Jersey more closely followed the Waste Hierarchy?
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EfW: Compatible With Recycling
• In the EU, recycling and
Energy Recovery have
grown together because of
policies that minimize
landfills.
• The European Environment
Agency says “there is no
evidence to support” the
argument that “incineration
of waste with energy
recovery hinders the
development of recycling.”
• In the U.S., many Covanta
communities recycle well
over 50%.
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Circular Economy: Covanta / Recycled paper mill collaboration
• Waste from NYC is delivered via the sealed rail
cars to Covanta’s WTE facility in Niagara Falls,
NY, a combined heat & power (CHP) plant.
• Greenpac Mill manufactures lightweight
linerboard for corrugated boxes, made with 100
percent recycled fibers.
• Rejects and waste from Greenpac Mill
are sent to Covanta for energy recovery.
• Steam generated during the combustion
process is returned to the mill, which
uses it for drying the paper it produces.
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Advanced Metals Recovery
Annually, we recover 600,000 tons of metal for recycling, including ferrous metal equivalent to 6 Golden Gate bridges.
And we’re working to advance recovery:
Boosting recoveryOver the past four years, we’ve increased our metals recovery by nearly 20 percent.
Recovering stainless steelWe’ve installed a new air sorter, the first of its kind, to remove stainless steel from the ash at our Hempstead facility.
Improving qualityA new Metals Processing Facility in Fairless Hills, PA, processes metals from multiple plants into purer commodity streams.
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NJ Legislative Action targeted toward methane & organics
A4606, Assemblyman Zwicker
S3215, Senator Greenstein
SYNOPSIS: Requires State to use 20-year time horizon and most recent
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report when calculating
global warming potential to measure global warming impact of greenhouse gases.
A4867, Assemblywoman Pinkin
S3274, Senator Smith
SYNOPSIS: Establishes Statewide targets to reduce disposal of organic waste in
landfills; requires DEP to adopt regulations to achieve targets.
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