Gas Collection System Installation
Getting pipes in the ground in time to capture harmful gases
A landfill gas collection system is essentially a network of pipes and wells designed to capture the gas that forms when trash breaks down underground that includes:
Vertical wells or horizontal pipes drilled into the buried waste
Perforated piping that allows gas to flow in
A vacuum system that pulls the gas through the pipes
A control device, like a flare (which burns the gas)
The system works like a giant underground straw: it applies suction to pull methane out of the landfill before it leaks through the surface.
When properly installed and maintained, gas collection systems can significantly reduce methane pollution. But if they’re installed too late, poorly designed, improperly tuned, or damaged over time, methane can escape through cracks in the cover or bypass the system entirely.
Unfortunately, methane from food and other organic waste escapes into the air because gas collection systems come too late. Timely installation isn’t an innovation — it’s a correction to a known and fixable flaw. Getting pipes in the ground sooner is one of the most immediate, proven, and cost-effective ways to stop landfill methane emissions at their source. A gas collection system only works if it is installed early enough, designed correctly, and continuously maintained to function as intended
The Problem: Gas Collection Systems are Installed Too Late
A Carbon Mapper study of 217 U.S. landfills found that emissions from the active working face—where waste is freshly dumped and compacted—are a dominant source of pollution, and it is precisely where there is usually zero gas collection. Carbon Mapper found that just 52 landfills with significant working-face emissions accounted for more than 75% of the methane quantified.
EPA’s 2023 analysis of methane generated from landfilled food waste found that 61% of methane generated by landfilled food waste is not captured by gas collection systems and is instead released to the atmosphere. Because food waste decays quickly, about half of its carbon converts to landfill gas within just 3.6 years, yet EPA’s federal rules allow active landfills to delay GCCS expansion for up to five years after new waste placement.
The lack of gas collection systems in the very place where there is the most pollution represents a systemic flaw in standards for landfills: gas collection begins only after the period of peak methane generation has already passed. These lag times are among the biggest missed opportunities in landfill methane mitigation - a relic of outdated assumptions from the 1990s that fail to account for today’s food-heavy waste streams and available technology to capture gas.
The Fix: Reducing Lag Time in Gas Collection System Installation
Early installation of GCCS directly addresses this failure. Studies modeling landfill operations under the IPCC gas generation framework show that two measures consistently deliver the largest methane reductions worldwide: Recovering gas early, and reducing the amount of biodegradable organic waste landfilled.
Landfill gas collection and control systems (GCCS) must be designed and installed to maximize methane capture during the most active phases of waste decomposition, when emissions are at their peak:
For new gas collection systems, GCCS design plans should be completed and approved early, within 180 days of the threshold exceedance, and within one year of design approval, ensuring gas collection begins while methane production is still high.
Expansion of the gas collection system must keep pace with expansion of the landfill itself —new landfill cells should have GCCS in place before waste acceptance, and horizontal collectors should be installed as waste is buried to maintain continuous methane capture.
By installing horizontal collectors or caisson wells as waste is placed, operators can capture methane as it’s generated—rather than chasing it years later. The EPA has found that such early systems are technically feasible, can be built within months, and are cost-effective compared to retrofitting after emissions have already occurred.
Landfills can also take advantage of modern technology solutions. For example, Qnergy, a company providing mobile, modular methane destruction devices. These devices can destroy early methane from new cells that operators might otherwise isolate to prevent dilution of aggregate gas quality. Qnergy's modular devices can operate effectively at methane concentrations as low as 30% and can be connected to early GCCS infrastructure while remaining isolated from the main beneficial use facility intake.
Horizontal gas collectors with real-time tech at a landfill. Photo Source: LoCI Controls.
Examples of Early Gas Collection from Leading States
Michigan (2021): The state of Michigan, which has over 80 MSW landfills, requires GCCS installation during landfill construction of a new cell, even before waste acceptance. This embeds gas infrastructure into the landfill’s physical design, avoiding retrofit delays and achieving “build it once, build it right” efficiency.
California (2025): The 2025 Landfill Methane Rule (LMR) shortens the new GCCS system installation period from 18 months to 6 months after design plan approval for active landfills (and from 30 months to 18 months for closed landfills). CARB staff note this ensures gas collection “begins as soon as feasible to capture methane.” CARB also cited remote sensing data—such as Carbon Mapper’s methane plume detections—as evidence for requiring “prompt expansion of gas collection systems into areas with newly disposed waste”. It also requires installation of new gas collection wells and piping in areas of new waste placement, including earlier collection in active disposal areas. They establish a 200,000 tons per year waste acceptance threshold (based on the prior three calendar years) to determine which landfills must implement early collection planning.
Washington (2024):The state of Washington’s upgraded landfill standards shorten gas collection system installation lag time to 18 months after threshold exceedance and mandates expansion into new areas immediately upon waste placement, effectively eliminating the five-year delay permitted under federal rules.
Costs and Benefits
A 2024 EPA White Paper found that reducing lag times in GCCS installation does not significantly increase total project cost, instead, it primarily shifts capital investment earlier, when methane generation (and gas capture value) is greatest. In general, landfills that already operate a gas collection and control system (GCCS), face lower costs because cost estimates reflect only new or incremental requirements, not the installation of an entirely new system.
Landfills without an existing GCCS incur higher incremental costs due to the need to install that basic control infrastructure. Although this can make costs appear higher on a per-acre basis for smaller landfills, their smaller footprint also results in lower total costs overall. The EPA estimates initial GCCS design and installation costs of $1–3 million per site, with annual O&M costs of $150,000 to $400,000.
In 2025, the state of Colorado conducted a detailed analysis on costs related to gas collection system installation and determined (slide 6) cost per acre on an annual basis are:
Smaller landfills without GCCS -$5,900/acre/year
Larger landfills with GCCS - $1,600/acre/year
“Reduced lag times may not significantly increase total costs—but they capture methane during the years when it matters most. ”
Industry Claim: Installing gas systems earlier or in the active face will increase damage, downtime, and safety risks.
Fact: Modern landfill design and operational planning have made early gas collection both feasible and safe—and it improves performance.
Concerns about settlement, oxygen intrusion, or worker safety on the active face reflect outdated practices, not current engineering. Horizontal collectors, bottom-up collectors, and modular wellfield layouts are specifically designed for installation in active disposal areas and have been used successfully for decades. Horizontal wells have been in use since at least 1982, and research by Horvath explicitly concludes: “The construction of horizontal gas wells is a feasible solution to collecting LFG in active disposal areas.” The same paper directly addresses safety, noting that proper coordination between designers and landfill operators—such as maintaining 4–6% working face slopes—mitigates operational risks. Horizontal collectors are also recognized as a common practice in the 2012 Global Methane Initiative guidance, and are eligible collection methods under U.S. CFR 40 Part 60 Subpart XXX and highlighted in the U.S. EPA LFG best practices guidebook
Emissions Reductions
A study by Energy Vision found that early expansion of gas collection systems to landfill working faces, with real-time monitoring and automated tuning systems, would cut MSW landfill emissions by 20.8% from the 2023 level.