When food and yard waste are landfilled, those organic materials become a source of methane emissions contributing to global warming and climate change. But biogas—primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide—is produced from the breakdown of organic matter via anaerobic digestion (AD) and can be utilized as a sustainable renewable energy source.
“When dealing with waste in New York City, we want to be dealing with food waste and yard waste, which is the largest part of the city’s waste stream,” he said, noting landfilling organics generates harmful greenhouse gas emissions. “When we send that waste to incinerators, bad problems only become worse when you mix in the moisture content of food waste and yard waste. So, those are the worst places to be sending our food waste and yard waste. Composting and anaerobic digestion are by far the preferable ways of addressing the single largest piece of New York’s waste stream.” More >>