Waste
The Clinton Climate Initiative’s (CCI) Waste Management Program supports practical action to reduce and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste.
Waste in landfills around the world is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions – 23 times more potent as a greenhouse gas agent than CO2.
Through infrastructure, policies, and alternative technologies, CCI helps cities reduce reliance on landfills through recycling, composting, and capture and use of methane to generate power, minimizing risks to human health and well-being.
Key Areas Of Focus
- Divert organic waste stream. CCI targets alternative technologies such as composting and anaerobic digestion to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, minimize methane emissions, and generate useful byproducts, such as energy and organic fertilizer.
- Capture methane gas from landfills. CCI evaluates the potential of gas capture systems at existing and future landfill sites, and assesses the market for methane as an alternative fuel source.
- Recycle construction and demolition waste. CCI assesses the viability of recycling construction and demolition waste, and develops projects that engage private companies to operate dedicated facilities.
- Recover recyclable commodities, such as metals, glass, paper, plastic and electronic waste.
- CCI evaluates the municipal infrastructure necessary to collect, process and market recyclable commodities effectively, and helps cities design supporting policies and regulations.
Approach
CCI staff evaluates cities’ waste management systems and makes strategic recommendations for improvements that maximize revenue potential and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, working closely with partner cities every step of the way. Using a custom-built analytical tool, technologies are considered against economic and environmental criteria. Once a city approves its plan, CCI helps to draft public tender documents, with the overarching goal of streamlining processes and enhancing transparency. Where needed, it taps its global partner network for technical expertise and to explore financing options and private partnerships.
CCI also aims to stimulate market demand for advanced, integrated waste management systems. Historically, systems and products in this market are highly customized, keeping costs high and uptake slow. CCI convenes leading waste equipment, technology, and service providers to evaluate specific projects and, equally, track best practices and solutions that can be easily and quickly replicated in cities around the world.
PROFILE
The city of Delhi has begun construction on a groundbreaking project that will transform the way it deals with its waste. Click on the picture to learn more.
