Modeling carbon balance of municipal solid waste landfills

In 2020, in the Russian Federation, the mass of municipal solid waste (MSW) sent to specialized landfills exceeded 36 million tons, of which more than half is represented by biodegradable organic components. As a result of biodegradation of waste, greenhouse gases (GHG) are formed - methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The volume fraction of CH, in the composition of landfill gas (LFG) reaches 45-75%, CO2 - 25-55%. The global warming potential (GWP) of CH4 is 25 times higher than the GWP of CO2, which significantly increases the contribution of MSW landfills to the emerging carbon balance. Active GHG emissions at MSW landfills occur not only during their operation, but also for several decades after their closure and reclamation of the territory. In this paper, on the basis of the LandGEM calculation model, the contribution of GHG emissions to the total carbon balance is estimated, taking into account the assimilation of carbon by the forest vegetation of the sanitary protection zone and the soil that forms on the surface of the landfill covered with ground after the completion of its active operation. It is shown that the contribution of MSW to the total GHG emissions on the territory of the Russian Federation can be estimated at 1.6% of the total mass of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent.