Note: These pages present final 1990-2023 Inventory data (updated March 2025) and the EPA's latest 2024-2030 projections estimates (updated May 2025)
The waste sector includes emission estimates from solid waste disposal, composting, waste incineration (excluding waste to energy), open burning of waste and wastewater treatment and discharge. The largest of these sources is solid waste disposal on land (landfills) where methane (CH4) is the gas concerned.
Emissions from the waste sector decreased by 3.0% in 2023 (or 0.03 Mt CO2eq), with decreases in subcategory landfills of 6.3%.
Long-term decreases are a result of decreased quantities of municipal solid wastes (MSW) disposed of at landfills which now are combusted in Waste to Energy (WtE) plants. In addition, a decrease in the proportion of organic materials (food and garden waste) in MSW as well as a diversion of paper products from landfills. A large proportion of organic food and garden waste is now treated in composting and anaerobic digestion facilities, which have significantly lower emissions than landfills.
(Latest update May 2025)
Waste sector emissions are projected to decrease by 25.2% between 2018 and 2030 to 0.7 Mt CO2eq under the With Existing Measures scenario.