Clinton Climate Initiative
Waste Management
Waste in landfills around the world is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions – 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas agent than CO2. The C40-CCI Cities Waste Management Program supports practical action to reduce and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste. Through infrastructure, policies, and alternative technologies, this program helps cities reduce reliance on landfills through recycling, composting, and capture and use of methane to generate power, minimizing risks to human health and well-being.
C40-CCI Cities takes a multi-faceted approach to waste management. Our key areas of focus are: diversion of organic waste streams, by targeting alternative technologies such as composting and anaerobic digestion to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills; the capture of methane gas from landfills as a potential alternative fuel source; recycling construction and demolition waste; recovering recyclable commodities, such as metals, glass, paper, plastic and electronic waste; and, evaluating the municipal infrastructure necessary to collect, process and market recyclable commodities effectively, to help cities design supporting policies and regulations.
C40-CCI Cities works closely with our partner cities to evaluate their current waste management systems and develop a strategy for not only reducing green house gas emissions, but also maximizing revenue potential.