Climate Master John Fischer here with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably. The Lane County landfill - or dump- at Short Mountain is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the county - and in the state.
And that is great news - because we can easily cut those emissions to near zero with a few simple behavioral changes, and perhaps some new - or enforced - rules about what can be thrown in your garbage can.
Methane is the emission gas of concern, and it's produced when organic matter, - grass clippings, banana peels, any organic matter, decomposes without air - and specifically oxygen - available. The buried layers of a landfill are perfect for what is called anaerobic decomposition. Your compost pile, and the commercial composters who take your green waste produce almost no methane.
All we have to do to stop landfill methane emissions is to not throw organic matter, or feces- aka poop yes even disposable diapers - into the garbage - period. No organic matter - no methane emissions.
You can compost the kitchen scraps in the backyard, or put them in your green waste bin in Eugene. Branches, grass clippings, leaves, can all be put in the green waste can, or taken to Lane Forest products, or Rexius for commercial composting. Don't put any of it in the garbage can - ever. Feces- dog and human do not belong in the landfill- they should go in the toilet. Cat poop should be buried 12 inches deep - and not in your vegetable garden - due to the disease toxoplasmosis.
If you don't have green waste pick-up, put your kitchen scraps down the disposal where they will be digested with methane capture at the sewage treatment plant.
While landfill gas is captured at many dump sites, including Short Mountain, the systems are far from perfect, and would not be necessary if we didn't throw organic matter into the garbage. Let's make the change now, or legislate it if necessary, and cut emissions to zero.
I'm John Fischer with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably.
