Methane-Emitting Landfills: A Potent, Pervasive Problem

About 8,000 industrial facilities are required to report their greenhouse gas emissions annually, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes that data public. While a controversy exists over the accuracy of EPA methane reporting methods, here are the top 10 methane-emitting municipal solid waste landfills for 2019, based on company reports.

Landfill
Owned by
Methane emission, 2019
(metric tons)
Rumpke Sanitary Landfill
Cincinnati, 		Rumpke Consolidated Cos. Inc.
49,089
JED Solid Waste Management Facility
St. Cloud, Fla. 		Waste Connections US Inc.
48,929
Orange County Landfill
Orlando, Fla. 		Orange County Utilities Solid Waste Division
32,182
Eagle Point Landfill LLC
Ball Ground, Ga. 		Advanced Disposal Services Inc.
29,955
Sampson County Disposal LLC
Roseboro, N.C. 		Sampson County Disposal LLC
29,233
Black Warrior Solid Waste Disposal Authority
Coker, Ala. 		Black Warrior Solid Waste Disposal Authority
22,268
McCommas Bluff Landfill
Dallas, 		City of Dallas
21,218
Brevard County Disposal Facility
Cocoa, Fla. 		Brevard County Board of Commissioners
20,923
Big Run Landfill
Ashland, Ky. 		Boyd County Sanitary Landfill Inc.
20,906
121 Regional Disposal Facility
Melissa, Texas 		North Texas Municipal Water District
20,747

Source: U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

Credit: Duy Nguyen/NPR, Paul Horn/Inside Climate News