Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
In 2018, the United States had 1,269 municipal waste landfills. The total generation of MSW in 2018 was 292.4 million tons, which was approximately 23.7 million tons more than the amount generated in 2017. This is an increase from the 268.7 million tons generated in 2017 and the 208.3 million tons in 1990.
Of the MSW generated, approximately 69 million tons were recycled and 25 million tons were composted. Together, almost 94 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted, equivalent to a 32.1 percent recycling and composting rate. An additional 17.7 million tons of food were managed by other methods.
Other food management includes the following management pathways: animal feed, bio-based materials/biochemical processing, co-digestion/anaerobic digestion, donation, land application and sewer/wastewater treatment. For more information on food management, check out Food: Material-Specific Data. In addition, nearly 35 million tons of MSW (11.8 percent) were combusted with energy recovery and more than 146 million tons of MSW (50 percent) were landfilled.
When organic waste like food, wood or paper decomposes, it emits methane into the air. Landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions globally, after oil and gas systems and agriculture. Although methane only accounts for about 11% of greenhouse gas emissions and lasts about a dozen years in the air, it traps 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide does. Scientists estimate that at least 25% of today’s warming is driven by methane from human actions.
Any reduction in the amount of municipal solid waste produced and landfilled is a win – win for the environment. If even a small amount of this could be converted to useful fuels, it would make a huge impact on our landfills and the communities surrounding them.
MSWH2 can help municipal solid waste companies meet their future sustainability goals and create an even more circular business model. The future is coming where municipal solid waste is converted into hydrogen which in turn powers your refuse trucks, cutting the amount of waste land filled and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. All this while delivering lower opex and future capex expenses resulting in increased profits.
Attention Waste to Energy Companies – Ask us how our solution can deliver 2 X more electricity then yours. Click here
<$1/kg H2
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$5-6/kg H2
Electrolysis Cost
APT produces hydrogen and syngas using low-cost feedstocks, significantly lowering CapEx and OpEx compared to any competing processes.
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