WASTE MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO 2 reductions with environmental & economic benefits. Selected case studies

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1 This paper has been issued by International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) to help discussions on Climate Change and Waste Management during the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) WASTE MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO 2 reductions with environmental & economic benefits Selected case studies ISWA November 2012

2 ISWA 2012 Message from the ISWA President, David Newman ISWA is leading international organisations in raising the awareness of the need to overcome a worldwide waste emergency, in which 70% of the 4 billion tons of waste we produce each year are not treated, but simply landfilled or dumped onto land in uncontrolled urban areas. This environmental crisis not only produces now around 1 billion tons of CO 2 emissions (that will treble in 20 years time) but causes the spread of disease, urban decay, lost resources. Yet we know how much good waste management can help; create jobs through recycling, make urban areas clean places to live and invest in, and recover enormous resources to use in our industries and on land as compost. And we have already shown how much energy can be regained by waste to energy facilities, biogas captation from landfills and anaerobic digestion of organic waste. The further potential for energy recovery from waste is enormous. This brochure shows a few virtuous examples. With more funding, through the Climate Change mechanisms and Official Development Assistance (ODA), we can do much, much more to alleviate poverty and improve our environment. Join our campaign before it is too late. 1

3 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits Contents 1 - Integrated Municipal Solid Waste complex at Kanpur, India Extended Producer Responsibility in Republic of Korea generates CO 2 savings Net GHGs savings from Aalborg s waste management! Kouroupitos: Turning a disastrous dumpsite to the best waste management system in Greece Buenos Aires, The green Norte III facility produces energy from waste Bangladesh: A Compost plant using carbon trading Landfill Gas to Energy in Bogotá, Colombia ethekwini: Africa s first landfill gas to electricity project.. 17 Instead of Conclusions 21 2

4 ISWA Integrated Municipal Solid Waste complex at Kanpur, India The project has been recognised for its significant achievements. KNN received the JNNURM award of excellence for Best City for Improvement in Solid Waste Management from the Prime Minister in Country: India City: Kanpur, state of Uttar Pradesh, Western bank of the Ganga Population affected: 3.6 million people Investment: $18M CO 2 reduction: 68,988 tco 2 /year Few years ago solid waste management in Kanpur was similar to the most other Indian cities. The Municipal Corporation (KNN) had the responsibility for collecting, transporting and disposing of the solid waste generated in the city, estimated at about 1,500 tonnes per day. There were numerous collection centres in the city, more than 400 of which were open dumps. A fleet of 132 vehicles and 3,000 informal sector workers were supposed to collect and transport the city garbage and dump it at an authorised site a few kilometres away from the city. The collection and transportation activity was financed out of grants from the State Finance Commission. A community of rag-pickers was involved in removing recyclable waste from the waste chain. In June 2008, KNN and the government of Uttar Pradesh worked together to experiment with public private partnership in transforming the system of solid waste management in the city. Now there are hardly any garbage on the streets. Garbage collection centers have now been converted into parks with the help of the local community. The garbage is taken to a central site where it is sorted, segregated and transformed into a number of products of value, such as premium quality compost, RDF, and interlocking tiles from construction debris for use in footpath paving. After selling off some other recyclable material, very little (less than 2% or so) remains to be deposited in the landfill. The landfill which was expected to fill up in 7 years may actually take much longer thanks to the success in reusing most of the waste. Door-to-door collection of garbage is being done in bins attached to rickshaws by former informal sector workers (safai mitras), using hand gloves and protective masks. The garbage is directly unloaded into refuse compactor trucks of varying capacity, which can typically take the load of bins. Kanpur Waste Management Plant is the largest producer of compost from organic waste; a very large percent of the waste collected from Kanpur is biodegradable. The quality of the compost is enhanced by scientific inputs 3

5 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits coming from the R&D lab at the plant. The premium quality organic fertiliser is sold through fertiliser marketing companies, and also directly under their own brand. Finally, in 2010, a waste-to-energy plant was set up, thus creating the largest integrated project in solid waste management in Asia. The plant produces 15 MW of electricity, using RDF produced in-house. Benefits: The project CO 2 savings are almost 69,000 tco 2 /year. The environmental and health benefits resulted from the closure of 400 small dumpsites located within the city's neighborhoods are really difficult to be measured, but it is estimated that the living conditions of almost 400,000 people were radically improved. The working conditions of the former waste pickers have been improved as well, as they deal with waste at source, they receive uniforms, protecting equipment, and there has been is a decrease in the incidences of diseases (like diarrhoea, fever, skin infections, jaundice etc). Regarding employment benefits, 130 informal pickers have been directly employed to provide waste management services; they receive training, salary and various financial services. They are provided with social security coverage (pension, insurance etc.), their monthly income rose from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,800 per month, their work hours have regularized, and have identity cards. Also, their social status has rise, they cause less harassment, as they are easily identifiable by their uniforms, and their young kids have started going to schools. Overall Impact: door to door collection of waste has increased to 50% with an overall collection efficiency of 90% after implementation of the project. Recycling and reuse of waste has increased upto 85%. Improvement in cost recovery of SWM charges upto 60%. 4

6 ISWA Extended Producer Responsibility in Republic of Korea generates huge CO 2 savings Integrated policy approaches are key-drivers for waste management. Country: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Korea 73 million people N.A. 412,000 tco 2 /year Over the past years, targeted policies in Korea have significantly increased the recycling rate while creating thousands of jobs in an endeavour to build a Resource Recirculation Society. The Korean government s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system requires manufacturers and importers to recycle a certain amount of their products. The Extended Producer Responsibility Program has been operated since 2003, and was implemented under the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources. It aims to reduce waste at source and improve resource circulation by clearly defining the responsibilities and obligations of the stakeholders (government and producers) in the entire product cycle, from production to distribution, consumption and discharge. Benefits: By recycling the items subject to the EPR policy instead of land filling or incinerating, CO 2 emissions have been reduced annually by an average of 412,000 tons. It is estimated that as a result of these efforts, approximately 23,532 tons of greenhouse gas emissions (CO 2 ) from plastic landfill or incineration were prevented. Regarding economic benefits, KRW 3,609 billion expenses were saved due to: a. landfill and incineration avoidance, and b. economic value creation from recycled products, considering the 8,797 million tons packing materials and products recycled for 7 years through the EPR system implementation (see graph below). 5

7 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits The numbers of producers with recycling obligation and recycling businesses rose from 2,747 and 418 in 2003, to 4,343 and 560 in 2009, respectively. The number of managed producers with recycling obligation per recycling business - which is directly connected to the economic profits of recycling businesses - went up from 6.6 in 2003 to 7.8 in Thus, stable facilities investment conditions have been prepared. The financial benefit of recycling million tons of waste in the five years since the implementation of EPR in 2003 is estimated to be over US $1.6 billion. In 2008, a total of 69,213 tons of plastic products were recycled, yielding an economic benefit of approximately $69 million. Furthermore, in a period of six years ( ) the EPR system created 6,275 new jobs (see graph below). Although the country s waste volume has gradually risen since 2000, the percentage of total waste volume recycled has also significantly increased. For example, in 1995, 72.3% of municipal solid wastes were landfilled and 23.7% were recycled, whereas in 2007, 57.8% were recycled and 23.6% were landfilled. Furthermore, in 2007, 81.1% of the total waste was recycled. This reduction in waste landfilling has opened the door for new businesses. Korea s Landfill Gas Recovery Project is a major Clean Development Mechanism project, with a capacity of 50 MWh and a production of 363,259 MWh in This Metropolitan Landfill Power Plant already reduced CO 2 emission by 0.4 million tons between April and November It is expected to further reduce a total of 7 million tons of CO 2 between April 2007 and April During the same ten-year period, the plant is also expected to save Korea $126 million. The plant also allowed Korea to reduce its oil imports by 530 thousand barrels in

8 ISWA Net GHGs savings from Aalborg s waste management! Through optimization of waste management, cities can achieve substantial CO 2 reductions. Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Denmark Aalborg 230,000 people N.A. 326,600 tco 2 /year Aalborg Municipality is the 3 rd largest Danish municipality and lies in North Jutland of Denmark. According to 1 st January 2010 statistics, it has a total population of 197,426. Its total area is 1,144 km 2. Aalborg Municipality has made important commitments in order to achieve sustainable development called Aalborg Commitments. According to City of Aalborg (2005), in these commitments, a Responsible consumption and life style choice is an integral element. Under the heading of this element, some commitments related to waste were also made which are presented as follows: TARGETS RESULTS Min. 65% re-use and recycling (R) R: 72.4 % Max. 26% incineration (I) I: 17.4 % Max. 9% disposed of(d) D: 9.0 % In 1970 Aalborg had no wastewater treatment. All solid organic waste were deposited at a landfill without gas recovery. As a consequence, municipal organic waste management system resulted in net GHG emissions with methane from landfill accounting for almost 100%. But between 1970 and 2005, the city took waste management to another level, adopting an integrated waste and resource management approach. Thus the city developed a yard waste composting system, source separation and the city s remaining organic waste incinerated for combined heat and power production. Of this, waste incineration contributed 80% to net energy production and GHG turnover, wastewater treatment (including sludge digestion) contributed another 10%, while other waste treatment processes used (composting, transport, and land application of treated waste) had minor impacts. 7

9 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits According to the waste statistics from Aalborg Municipality, in 2010 the total MSW was 127,377 tons. Out of this waste, 41,893 tons was residual waste (waste that is collected from households including kitchen waste, paper and plastic). The other fraction and their corresponding amounts are such as: glass bottles (2,822 tons), Cardboard and paper (10,688 tons), plastic (1 ton), bulky waste such as furniture (19, 964 tons), yard waste (20,465 tons), iron and metals (2,719 tons), electronic waste (1,379 tons), batteries (32 ton), old clothes (533 tons), PVC (89 ton) etc (waste from construction sites is not included). GHG balances for Aalborg organic waste management Aalborg's progress shows how important waste management can be in reaching energy and GHG goals, and should offer encouragement to other cities embarking on greener waste management strategies for the future. Benefits: Aalborg organic waste and wastewater management has changed from a net GHG emitter (200 kg CO 2 /cap in 1970) to a net GHG saver (170 kg CO 2 /cap in 2005) equivalent to 4% of current national average emissions. Diversion of waste from landfilling to incineration with energy recovery are the main contributors to the reductions in GHG emissions. Wastewater treatment can potentially yield reductions in GHG emissions via energy savings for aeration and digestion of food waste together with sewage sludge. At the same time those changes have created new sustainable business models and provide economic benefits too. A 18 MW Waste to Energy plant provides electricity for 35,000 homes and heating for 16,000 homes. 8

10 ISWA Kouroupitos: Turning a disastrous dumpsite to the best waste management system in Greece Looking at the history of Kouroupitos case it becomes clear that a radical transformation of waste management is possible only when the political, social and technical dimensions are taken into consideration Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Greece Chania 150,387 people, but rises considerably during summer months N.A. About 13,000 tco 2 /year Prefecture of Chania, is the westernmost prefecture of Crete, in the south of Greece. It consists of seven municipalities, and its population is 150,387 people which rises considerably during summer months tons/day of municipal waste are generated, and 45 tons of recycling material (During touristic season). Solid Waste Management in the area has a long and interesting history, starting from the middle of 60s, when waste disposal started in Kouroupitos, a river in the Northeast of the City of Chania. The waste were disposed and burnt in this site without any protective measures for environment and people. The environmental impacts of the operation of this uncontrolled landfill and the risks for public health were huge and very serious. The gully into which the waste was allegedly being dumped had been an area of outstanding natural beauty. The material dumped there was said to include waste from local military bases, hospitals and clinics, salt factories, poultry farms, slaughterhouses and other local industries. The unrestricted dumping of waste was alleged to have created an intolerable situation in the region, due to the stench and the various species of rodent and insect which had been attracted. Moreover, uncontrolled landfill of the waste was said to be carried out without supervision, creating a risk that fires would break out over large areas, perhaps endangering the military bases, with incalculable consequences for the whole region. As a result, the project of the Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) infrastructure (that includes the waste treatment plant and the landfill for the residues) of Chania was designed and constructed nearby the 9

11 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits Kouroupitos uncontrolled landfill. Finally, at the beginning of 2005, the waste treatment facility of Chania started its operations. The MBT facility accepts 90tons of residual waste, plus 45tons of recycling material/day. From the residual waste, tons are diverted for composting (providing 15tons of compost/day), 4-5tons are diverted for recycling (ferus, aluminum, paper, cartons, plastic), and the total diversion reaches 50-55tons/day. The rest are disposed to a modern sanitary landfill, with biogas utilization and leachate treatment facilities. Benefits: The CO 2 reduction is almost 13,000 tco 2 /year. Kouroupitos dump was secured, as the uncontrolled landfill was rehabilitated. This means a great environmental relief, since the almost 10,000 m 3 of leachate per year have stopped their run-off to the sea. The cause of 8-10 small scale fires per year is also removed. Recycling was boosted 30% of the total municipal waste production, and 80-90tons/day are recycled. Regarding generated employment, around 90 people are working in the facilities (61 people are working in the factory and 27 in material separation). But the most important thing is that due to this progress, waste management in Chania area became from a national shame to a national pride and today it is the only integrated waste management system in Greece, with a proven viability, social support and high technical standards. 10

12 ISWA Buenos Aires, The green Norte III facility produces energy from waste A project that could be expanded to 17,000,000 tons/day is really unique... Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Argentina Buenos Aires 14 million people N.A. About 296,807 tco 2 /year The environmental facility Norte III is property of the public company CEAMSE and operated by a private company. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and daily receives 17,000 tons of MSW generated in the City of Buenos Aires and 27 other localities of the Province of Buenos Aires. This is 90% of the waste generated in Gran Buenos Aires. The facility is composed of: 9 social plants of manual separation of MSW, destined to the social inclusion of waste pickers 3 private plants of manual separation of MSW 1 waste tyre recycling plant, which processes 400 tons/month 1 composting plant, that receives 1,200 ton/month of green waste 1 MBT plant, that receives 1,000 ton/day 2 degasification plants with flares 2 degasification plants that generate 15 MWh of energy The biogas produced at the Norte III landfill site will be captured by setting up and operating an extraction plant comprised of a network of wells and connected pipes, running into blowers and then into torches in order to flare it. The 4 degasification plants are registered in the CDM and their greenhouse gas emission reduction potential is of 21,341,995 tonnes CO 2 Eq. 11

13 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits Benefits: The CO 2 reduction accounts for 296,807 tco 2 /year. 15 MWh of energy is conducted into the electrical national grid, supplying the daily energy needs of 25,000 people. As current laws in Argentina do not control the LFG combustion, this project contributes to the sustainable development of the area immediately surrounding the landfill, of the Buenos Aires Province and Argentina as a whole: Abatement of the CH 4 emissions from the landfill; The area immediately surrounding the landfill get immediate benefits from the elimination of odorous gas emissions coming from the landfill. Substantial reduction or elimination of these gases mitigate the health problems that these gases can cause to the local population and have a positive impact on the development potential of the area surrounding the landfill; Safe and effective extraction of the biogas produced by the landfill also significantly reduces the risk of fire and explosion at the landfill; The project has a positive impact on local economy, employing local workers and using local materials whenever possible. 12

14 ISWA Bangladesh: A Compost plant using carbon trading The first compost project registered successfully with UNFCCC, and the first organic waste recycling project in the world to claim carbon credits.. Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Bangladesh Bulta, Roopganj, Grater Dhaka 7,000,940 people 12 million Euros 89,000 tco 2 /year At least 50-60% of the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) waste are biodegradable. A total of 13,300 tonnes/day of biodegradable waste was generated in the area in 2005, and that amount is predicted to increase to 47,664 tonnes by To address the above problem, the first 130 tons/day capacity compost plant was put in operation, in November 2008, at Bulta. The plant was established at no cost for the local government as it used carbon financing, attracting foreign direct investment. Today more similar plants are available. The plant involves high technology and well planned arrangements for the production of quality compost. It has a weigh bridge for fully loaded 10 ton trucks, pre-treatment, pre-composting, maturing, screening, compost storage areas, leachate tank and a comprehensive rainwater harvesting system along with administrative units and conference hall. Fully laden vehicles with vegetable scraps and organic refuse, trucks from Dhaka s Karwan Bazaar arrive hourly at Bulta; after being weighed, each truck heads towards the pre-composting area. All the data pertaining to weight are electronically stored and monitored, thus preventing data manipulation. The market generates 45 tonnes of wastes per day on average, and from April 2009, the plant composts all this waste. The plant produces around tonnes of fertilizer daily. The project, co-financed by FMO (Netherlands Development Bank), Netherlands government and other local and Dutch financial institutions, is registered and approved by the CDM, and is a great example on how international cooperation can bring results of reference. 13

15 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits Benefits: The process will help reduce carbon emissions by 90,000 tonnes/year and will have a positive impact on the environment. 83%, of cultivable land in Bangladesh has less that 3.5% organic matter, causing a serious problem of food security. Compost produced by the plant can address to the above problem. Also, the project is a positive step in order to confront country s poor waste management of non-controlled landfills, which causes water pollution, spread of disease vectors, GHG emissions, odor pollution, and more land required for landfilling. The plant produces almost 50,000 tonnes of compost per year, and recycles 130 tons/day of organic waste. The landfilling avoided is 52,195 m 3 /year, and there is 100% on-site waste water recycling. Apart from the positive environmental impacts, the project helps municipalities reduce their waste management budget. The two sources of project cash flow are sales proceeds from compost, and certified emissions reduction (CER); 15 to 20% of each tonne of organic waste is transformed into compost, its price at the factory gate is 60 euros/tonne. Through the project the informal sector was also given better working environment. There is day care center for female staff, health insurance and free meal for the workers. The plant provides jobs to 130 workers and 800 urban poor residents. It is not fully mechanized and thus provides an opportunity to employ people from the informal sector at a salary higher than government rates, offering them good working conditions, health insurance, a day care facility and free meals. Finally, the compost produced is cheaper than chemical fertilizers. It helps poor farmers improve the health of their cultivable soil as well providing expectations for higher production. 14

16 ISWA Landfill Gas to Energy in Bogotá, Colombia The project of Dona Juana Landfill is one of the largest Clean Development Mechanism schemes in Latin America. Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: Colombia Bogotá 8.5 million people 13 million Euros 14.8m tons of CO 2 equivalent The project, located at the Doña Juana Landfill in the Bogotá, Colombia, is one of the largest Clean Development Mechanism projects in Latin America. It involves landfill gas (LFG) capture, flaring, and utilization for energy production on-site or in nearby industries. The landfill is used for the disposal of around 2 million tons of municipal solid waste generated by the inhabitants of Bogotá each year. MSW management in the city is carried out as a public service, which includes collection, transport and disposal. The waste is disposed in the sanitary landfill Doña Juana located at south of the city, and the District is in charge of the management of the landfill. There is no a formal recycling system for the city, this fact has social, environmental and economic consequences. The project is being developed on behalf of the City of Bogotá by a joint venture company entitled Biogas Doña Juana S.A. The construction started on the project on September 22, Infrastructure was completed in LFG extraction started in the "newer" areas (150 hectares), which contain 16,320,895 and 465,807 tons of waste, respectively. The estimated gas extraction rate from these areas is 13,000 m 3 /h and 1,100 m 3 /h respectively. Together this represents 60-70% of the total potential gas that can be produced from the landfill. Extraction will be expanded to Zone VII (40 ha) and to the future zones within the perimeter of the landfill site. The project improved the technical operation conditions of the landfill with the following benefits: Increased geotechnical stability of the waste mass. Reduced LFG and odor emissions Development and implementation of new technologies 15

17 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits Benefits: The destruction of the landfill methane via combustion in the flaring units, engines and kilns will result in emission reductions totalling close to 6 million tco 2 eq over the first 7 year crediting period. The chart shows the estimated GHG emission reductions over the project life (22 years). The decrease in reductions starting in 2024 reflects the year when LFG coming from areas under extraction will be exhausted and a decommissioning process will take place. In total, the project is expected to reduce emissions by 14.8m tons of CO 2 equivalent. New waste disposal areas equipped with infrastructure for biogas extraction could increase this figure. The methane contained in the captured landfill gas will be used as a fuel in reciprocating engines to produce electricity and also as a fuel in up to 70 neighbouring brick kilns, replacing the fossil fuels currently used. Beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions and being registered as a CDM project, the city will keep more than 24% of the CERs and more than 2% of the energy sold by the LFG concessionaire during the project life. This income is invested in social projects agreed upon by the communities surrounding the landfill, such as parks, water and wastewater projects, recreation and sports centers. In 2011 investments in these social projects exceeded US$1.2M. The project has also had positive effects on: Increased support for industrial development in Colombia Increased technology know-how and skilled labor Improved environmental conditions of the neighboring communities 16

18 ISWA ethekwini: Africa s first LFG to electricity project The Bisasar Road landfill site is the busiest landfill in Africa. Country: City: Population affected: Investment: CO 2 reduction: South Africa ethekwini (Durban) municipality, province of KwaZulu-Natal 3.16 million people N.A. 480,000 tonnes in 7 years - 7,8 million in 15 years Sub-tropical climate conditions are pre-dominant in the coastal areas of ethekwini. Areas of ethekwini vary in socio-economic climate from well-developed urban areas of the metropolitan to newly integrated rural/ periurban areas with little service coverage and infrastructure. Regarding solid waste generation in the area, formal sector range from kg/capita/day, and 0.18kg/capita for the informal sector, whilst the total waste landfilled per annum is approximately 1.15 million tons. In March 2007, Africa s first landfill gas to electricity project was launched; aiming to enhance landfill gas collection and use it to generate electricity for export to the municipal grid in Durban. Landfill gas is collected at the Bisasar Road, Mariannhill and La Mercy landfill sites in Durban. The Mariannhill landfill site had received 850,000 tonnes of waste by 2004 and will continue accepting waste until The La Mercy landfill site is an old landfill that will soon be closed; having received over 1 million tonnes of waste to date. Combined, the Mariannhill and La Mercy landfill sites have the potential to generate up to 2 MW of electricity. The Bisasar Road landfill site is the busiest landfill in Africa accepting 3,500 to 5,500 tonnes of municipal sewage waste daily and will continue to accept waste for ten years more. It has the potential to generate up to 10MW of electricity through collection, combustion and landfill gas. The final wells will be installed in approximately ethekwini landfill gas project makes use of methane extracted from city landfill sites for the generation of electricity. The project is registered with the Cleaner Development Mechanism (CDM) and generates income from the sale of carbon credits. 17

19 WM IMPROVEMENTS: Combined CO reductions with environmental & economic benefits The project is expected to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 7.8 million tonnes by Once fully operational, the project will also have the capacity to generate a total of 10MW of electricity. Apart from gas recovery, on site of Mariannhill landfill a leachate treatment plant and Material Recovery Facility (MRF) are located. The Mariannhill landfill is therefore representative of an integrated waste management approach. The site incorporates environmentally sustainable engineering design and operational methods, and has been registered as a national conservancy site. The MRF recovers between 9-13% of recyclables from the waste stream. The MRF facility has since been upgraded, with the addition of mechanical sorting equipment and the extension of the pre-sorting line. Benefits: With the annual estimation of emission reductions beginning in 2006, it is estimated that a total of 480,000 tonnes of CO 2 will be reduced at the three locations by There are also significant positive effects on local air and groundwater quality and safety. Emissions related to fossil fuel electricity generation are reduced by displacing electricity from these sources, as are those related to the transport and mining of fossil fuels. The amount of landfill gas in the atmosphere is reduced, thus reducing the risk of dangerous methane concentrations. This is particularly significant for the Mariannhill landfill site, as it is located close to residential areas. There has also been the economic benefit of additional employment, providing skilled jobs for the operation and maintenance of equipment at the landfill and at the power generation units. It is estimated that a total of 480,000 tonnes of CO 2 will be reduced by 2013, and 7.8 million tonnes by Income will come from two sources. Firstly by selling electricity generated from methane under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to Durban (ethekwini) municipality and secondly by selling its reduction in CO 2 emissions under an Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank administered Prototype Carbon Fund as Certified Emission Reductions (CER). 18

20 ISWA 2012 Instead of conclusions The eight case studies presented are just a small but representative sample of the benefits involved in waste management improvements. Their common characteristic is that they combine substantial CO 2 reductions with important economic, environmental and social benefits. It is sure that a detailed research will find hundreds of similar projects. But still the contribution of a better waste and resource management to a less carbon intensive society is underestimated and this is something that must change as soon as possible. Investing in waste management and recycling is one of the most safe ways to fight climate change and it must be a priority in the international climate agenda. Not only because the technologies involved are fully tested, commercial and immediately available, but also because the resulted benefits are easily understood, right here, right now from the affected populations. In that way, the future benefits of climate change mitigation strategies are linked with serious improvements of living conditions. And this is the safest way to reduce the carbon footprint of our societies. 19