Indicator: HS-66 Gaseous emissions from waste
Data
| Carbon Dioxide | Methane | Total emissions (includes CO²) | Total emissions as share of total net emissions (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid waste disposal on land | ne | 8 141.48 | 8 141.48 | 1.48 |
| Wastewater handling | 2 644.26 | 3 202.89 | 0.58 | |
| Waste incinerators | 16.30 | ne | 16.30 | - |
| Other waste | na | na | na | na |
| Total waste | 16.30 | 10 785.74 | 11 360.68 | 2.06 |
| Total net emissions | 402 282.03 | 110 294.50 | 550 077.28 | 100.00 |
Notes: ne – not estimated; na – not available
Source: Australian Greenhouse Office 2004, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2003: Part B. Common reporting format and appendix tables, Australian Greenhouse Office, viewed 15 Dec 2005, http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/inventory/, p. B44
| CO 2 | CH 4 | N 2 O | NMVOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid waste disposal on land | - | 387.69 | - | 1.56 |
| Wastewater handling | - | 125.92 | 1.80 | 0.33 |
| Waste incineration | 16.3 | - | - | - |
| Total | 16.3 | 513.61 | 1.80 | 1.89 |
Note: CO 2 – carbon dioxide; CH 4 – methane; N 2 O – nitrous oxide; NMVOC – non-methane volatile organic compounds
Source: Australian Greenhouse Office 2004, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2003: Part B. Common reporting format and appendix tables, Australian Greenhouse Office, viewed 15 Dec 2005, http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/inventory/, p. B37
Emissions from solid waste disposal on land 1990-2002
Source: Australian Greenhouse Office 2005, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2003, Australian Greenhouse Office, viewed 21 Dec 2005, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2003, p. A66
What the data mean
Total estimated waste emissions for 2003 were 11.4 Mt CO2-e, or 2.1% of total net national emissions. The majority of these emissions were from solid waste disposal on land, contributing 8.1 Mt or 71.8% of waste emissions. Wastewater handling contributed a further 3.2 Mt (28.1%) of waste emissions while waste incineration contributed 0.02 Mt (0.1%). Waste emissions are predominantly methane-generated from anaerobic decomposition of organic matter. Small amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are generated through the incineration of solvents and the decomposition of human wastes respectively.
Waste emissions were 11.1% (1.1 Mt CO2-e) higher in 2003 than they were in 1990 and 3.0% (0.3 Mt CO2-e) lower than in 2002. Emissions from municipal solid waste disposal on land increased by 9.0% (0.7 Mt CO2-e) over the period 1990 to 2003, and decreased by 4.5% (0.4 Mt CO2-e) since 2002.
As waste degradation is a slow process, estimates of methane generation for 2003 reflect waste disposal from up to 30 years earlier. Rates of methane recovery from solid waste have improved substantially since 1993, increasing from a negligible amount to 2.5 Mt CO2-e of methane in 2003.
Data Limitations
A full description of the methodologies and emission factors are presented in National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Committee (NGGIC) 2005, Australian Methodology for the Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 2003: Waste, Canberra.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Human Settlements — Pressures created by human settlements on the environment - Waste
Quantity of gaseous emissions from waste is one indicator for the pressure of waste from human settlements on the environment.
Other indicators for this issue:
- HS-53 Total solid waste produced and disposed
- HS-65 Amounts of hazardous waste
- LD-21 Area of land used for landfill
- LD-22 Rate of violations of residue levels in harvested products
- LD-37 Emissions from activities that derive contributions from the land
- IW-12 Catchment nitrogen and phosphorus load
- IW-14 Volume of sewage discharge to surface waters by treatment category (primary, secondary, tertiary)
- IW-15 Volume of sewage discharged to land
- CO-23 Aquaculture: volume of discharged sediments and nutrients
- CO-27 Number, frequency, extent and volume of oil spills from all sources
- CO-28 Quantity of discharges of different substances from humans activities to coastal and marine waters
- CO-51 Quantity of sewerage and ballast water dumped by shipping
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