OREANDA-NEWS. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new methane standards for municipal solid waste landfills it says will cut emissions from the sector by about one-third.

The agency on 14 August issued a revised proposal for controlling methane emissions from new landfills as well as proposed guidelines for existing landfills. Together, the proposals will cut emissions by 487,000 metric tonnes/yr starting in 2025, equivalent to about 12.2mn t of CO2, EPA said.

The proposal for new landfills lowers the threshold at which facilities must begin capturing methane to 34t/yr from 50t. EPA last year proposed a threshold of 40t/yr, but said a lower level was warranted in light of public comments and additional data that showed more landfill modifications are expected to take place than previously thought. The proposal also covers modified and reconstructed landfills.

The guidelines for existing landfills would significantly expand the number of facilities required to collect and control methane by using the same 34t/yr threshold as EPA proposed for new landfills. EPA said the change would subject an estimated 989 operating landfills to the guidelines, including 574 already required to collect and control emissions.

Municipal solid waste landfills accounted for 18pc of US human-related methane emissions in 2013, equivalent to about 100mn t of CO2. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with more than 25 times the global warming potential of CO2, EPA said.

EPA will open a 60-day comment period on the proposals once they are published in the Federal Register.