Each year, in the United States alone, we create and then landfill over
300 million tons of C&D, MSW, and related waste streams.

Once in the ground, these solid waste streams conspire to form methane and carbon dioxide. For every ton of waste that gets landfilled, there is 1.8 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas generated over the life of the landfill. Despite increasing recycling levels, the amount of waste which goes into the ground each year is also increasing, so the 1.8 tons of gas generated per ton of waste is effectively an annual number.

Landfills now represent the largest manmade source of methane gas emissions, and account for roughly 8% of global warming potential greenhouse gases.