Landfill Methane Is 5 Times Higher Than Officially Reported — and Why That Matters During COP30
A new study in Nature Climate Change has revealed something alarming but not unexpected: U.S. landfills are emitting five times more methane than the Environmental Protection Agency’s official data shows. Using satellites and aircraft, researchers identified persistent methane “super-emitters” — large, invisible plumes of climate pollution that current monitoring systems routinely miss.
The results confirm what communities and scientists have warned for years: EPA’s outdated, honor-system is leaving massive methane leaks unchecked.
What the Study Found
Massive undercounting. Current reporting assumes high gas-capture efficiency. This study shows those assumptions are wrong.
Persistent leaks and Super Emitters. These aren’t one-day events; the same plumes were detected repeatedly.
Methane is a super pollutant - A fivefold undercount means the U.S. is missing one of the fastest, cheapest ways to slow global warming — and to deliver cleaner air for communities who live closest to landfills.
U.S. States Leading, Solutions Ready to Scale
The good news? We already know what works - updating landfill regulations to the modern era and comprehensive organics waste prevention and recycling.
Modernize how landfills find and measure methane: Require modern, continuous methane monitoring — drones, satellites, and fixed sensors.
Close loopholes that allow landfills to slip through the cracks. Most landfills emit methane—but today, only landfills that meet poorly designed criteria are required to take common-sense steps like installing gas collection systems to capture methane gas
Require the use of proven best practices in methane mitigation and prevention such as earlier installation of gas capture systems, well tuning and better landfill cover practices.
Tackle the largest polluters: require landfill owners to turn data into action and address major sources of methane leaks once they’re identified.
Hold landfills accountable to neighboring communities: create processes and mechanisms for community members to seek accountability from landfills that don’t play by the rules.
Expand composting and food-recovery programs to keep organics out of landfills.
Right now world leaders are in COP 30 in Brazil — where countries will face pressure to demonstrate real progress toward the Global Methane Pledge, a commitment to cut global methane 30 percent by 2030.
According to Full Circle Future’s recent analysis, state-level landfill action alone could achieve 41 percent of the U.S. methane-reduction goal for the landfill sector and 10 percent of the nation’s entire pledge. That’s a major contribution hiding in plain sight.
States like Colorado, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington have already shown that smarter landfill standards and strong organics-diversion programs can slash emissions while creating local jobs and improving public health.
This Nature Climate Change study makes one thing clear: our landfill methane problem is even bigger than we thought. Stronger landfill standards and organic-waste solutions can deliver immediate wins for the climate and for public health — and bring us much closer to fulfilling our Global Methane Pledge.
