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Elk River GHG Baseline Inventory <br />9 <br />Opportunities for Reduction <br />We recommend that the City of Elk River conduct a detailed waste sort study to span a <br />minimum of one full week of collection. The waste sort study should focus on total MSW <br />collected, recycling materials collected, and waste characteristics. Data from this study <br />combined with community wide data should reveal opportunities for increased efficiency <br />and decreased total landfill waste stream. <br />How does City Operations Solid Waste contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emissions? <br />According to US EPA studies, traditional waste management contributes 1-5% of our collective <br />GHG emissions in the United States. The processing and treatment of waste can produce <br />emissions of several of the greenhouse gases. Even recycling of waste produces some <br />greenhouse gas emissions, however, these are usually offset by the reduction in fossil fuel use <br />that would be required to create a similar amount of product from raw resources. <br />The most prevalent greenhouse gas produced through municipal solid waste is the methane <br />released during the breakdown of organic matter in landfills. Pound for pound, the cumulative <br />climate change effect of methane is 25 times more potent than that of carbon dioxide. <br />Additionally, municipal solid waste is frequently combusted, which produces CO2 as well as <br />nitrous oxide (N2O) which is 298 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. <br />City Operations <br />Solid Waste <br />Annual Greenhouse Gas equal to: <br />168,805 <br />Cubic Feet of <br />Man-Made <br />Atmosphere <br />8.60 <br />Metric Tonnes <br />0.15% <br />City Operations <br />Total <br />Summary of Findings* <br />The volume of the City facilities’ solid waste handled are not currently measured by the City’s <br />waste handlers. Community wide total solid waste handled, total recycled waste, and totaled <br />solid waste sent to landfill are recorded. Using this data to establish community-wide averages <br />for waste volume for Elk River per capita, the total municipal solid waste (MSW) from City <br />facilities can be estimated. <br />MSW handled from City of Elk River facilities for Baseline year 2015 is estimated to total 28.67 <br />tons, or 474 pounds of waste annually per City employee (FTE). Using the community wide <br />blended GHG factor for MSW handled, the GHG emissions associated with City of Elk River <br />facility waste handled totals 8.6 Metric Tonnes (18,960 pounds) CO2e. <br />* Sources: Total waste handled data, and community waste characteristics based on Regional Indicators Initiative and MPCA. <br />Blended emission factor per ton MSW handled based on Regional Indicators Initiative. <br />Annual emissions associated with solid waste <br />generated at Elk River facilities totals:1,395 <br />Cubic Feet of man-made <br />Atmosphere per employee <br />(Figure to scale) <br />5.5 <br />Cubic Feet per pound of solid <br />waste (Figure to scale) <br />Nationally, emissions from solid waste landfills <br />total 301,203,000,000 pounds annually, <br />creating a volume of man-made atmosphere <br />equal to 2.7 Trillion cubic feet.