Methane is such a potent climate-changing gas that it is sometimes called a “super-pollutant.” CCA has been working for years on slashing output of these contaminants, The attack of the super-pollutants – Coalition for Clean Air. In California, the second-biggest source of methane emissions (behind dairies) is the landfills that take our trash. The state has an opportunity to dramatically reduce emissions of methane – and other pollutants that damage human health – by taking advantage of modern technology like drones and making common-sense changes to regulations.
California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) limits methane emissions from landfills, but the standard is 15 years old and does not account for 2025’s technology and best practices. CCA and our allies have been urging CARB to update and strengthen the rule, and CARB has responded by pledging to adopt an amended regulation by the end of this year. But some of the concepts floated by staff are too weak to get the job done. Potential Updates to the Landfill Methane Regulation Public Workshop – December 18, 2024
A recent report, https://industriouslabs.org/archive/press-release-common-sense-standards-can-deliver-cleaner-air-cut-california-landfill-methane, concluded that “improved state regulations would result in a 22% reduction” in landfill methane emissions. CCA and allies like Industrious Labs, Californians Against Waste and California Communities Against Toxics are urging CARB to reduce emissions from landfills through improvements in operational practices, less permeable covers, and advanced collection systems and technologies to utilize landfill gas, and to leverage advances in remote sensing capabilities to quickly pinpoint large methane sources and mitigate leaks, improve understanding of factors that lead to better capture efficiency, and explore new technologies and practices that can reliably improve methane control at landfills.
While this regulatory process goes on, the community of Val Verde, in northwestern Los Angeles County, has had to live with a nearby landfill — Chiquita Canyon – that is literally burning. Residents suffer from numerous and severe adverse health impacts, including cancer and respiratory ailments, that they attribute to the garbage that is smoldering under the surface of Chiquita Canyon. the Chiquita Canyon landfill’s impact on nearby residents. We know that plugging methane leaks will have the additional benefit of preventing the leakage of other gases, like benzene, that the landfill is generating.
