Latin America and the Caribbean Countries Seek to Reduce Methane Emissions in the Solid Waste Sector and Move Towards a Circular Economy
Through its Too Good to Waste initiative, the IDB call highlights the urgency of properly managing solid waste.
top of page
Our Vision
To reduce methane emissions in the waste sector by advancing policies, programs and projects that contribute to sustainable waste management and accelerate methane mitigation initiatives.
To raise awareness about the impacts and potency of this powerful greenhouse gas, while showcasing replicable solutions to help governments and private sector companies reach their climate goals through mitigation actions, while elevating the ambition of waste sector mitigation targets in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Reducing methane is among the fastest paths to preventing global warming in the short term.
Our Mission
A Policy Approach: To advance public policies and a regulatory framework that attract private sector investments to develop and support the implementation of projects that would otherwise not be bankable—this means that banks are willing to invest in projects that reduce methane emissions within the waste sector.
On-the-Ground: To work with engaged local leaders and key stakeholders to understand the current state of municipal waste management and discuss issues and potential solutions. CCAP shares the opportunities that exist with current, implementable, locally relevant technology that can be put in place to better manage waste, while creating new green jobs, reducing methane emissions, and creating reusable resources such as compost, energy and biogas.
Raising Awareness: To provide more visibility to the solutions that actively reduce emissions in the waste sector. Showcasing the successes surrounding methane mitigation activities allows other countries around the world and within the region to leverage and understand the dangers of methane and see the replicable and obtainable opportunities available to them to reduce this “super pollutant.” From a social standpoint, raising awareness of the public is key to allowing citizens to understand the impact of methane and the significance for communities to act fast to play a role in cutting methane emissions.
Our Team
A Recent Global Movement
-
The Global Methane Pledge was launched in 2021 during COP26 in Glasgow to reduce global methane emissions and keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. Over 150 countries have signed the pledge, and CCAP is actively helping participating countries from around the world to achieve their methane reduction goals.
-
CCAP leverages this international interest to create fast actions on the ground to cut emissions in the waste sector.
-
CCAP works with the Global Methane Hub, which is the first coordinated approach to methane mitigation funding, to help countries achieve their methane mitigation targets with the support of ambitious catalytic investments.
Staying
a Step Ahead
While reducing methane has recently gained global attention and much needed momentum, CCAP has been actively working on methane mitigation policies, strategies and projects for over a decade, with a primary focus on the waste sector. Our experts are a step ahead and possess a breadth of knowledge and experience in this sector that is significantly broader than other organizations—even those that are much larger than us.
Waste Management Technologies
Landfill Gas Capture
The landfill decomposition of organic materials, such as food residues, yard trimmings, paper and wood, results in the generation of landfill gas (LFG). Anaerobic bacteria degrade these materials to produce LFG, which contains about 50 to 55 percent methane (CH4) and other compounds such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs).
LFG can be captured and utilized in different ways using various technologies, such as to produce thermal or electric energy, to be refined for use as a vehicular fuel, or to be upgraded to natural gas standards.
News & Blogs
Cutting Methane in the Waste Sector
-
Waste is among the fastest-growing pollutants in the world, and it’s only getting worse. When you don’t focus on optimizing the management of the organic fraction of waste, you’re releasing huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere.
-
According to the World Bank, each year 2.01 billion tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generated. As long as there is growth in prosperity and rapid urbanization, waste generation per capita will continue increasing.
-
Our work leverages focus on the circular economy to help countries transition their waste sectors from a linear waste management paradigm focused on final disposal to a circular one that implements sustainable waste management alternatives that generate usable waste treatment products like compost, digestate, biogas and clean energy.
-
Significant opportunities and “low hanging fruit” exist in countries to reduce methane emissions in the waste sector. However, these are currently not being addressed to their full potential.
Track Record
Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Latin American Regional Waste City Network
Led a network of 24 of the largest cities in the region to build the capacity of waste stakeholders at the municipal level—to provide a forum for participants to share best practices and learn from others in the region and help cities prioritize Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) actions and measures. Learn More!
In 2023, CCAP and ImplementaSur partnered with CCAC to expand the Recycle Organics program to the Maldives, Togo and three more countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.
Peru Waste Sector Transformation
The goal of this Mitigation Action Facility project is to reimagine Peru’s waste sector from a system that relies on landfills to one that introduces circular economy concepts and strives to derive value from the significant organic fraction of the country’s waste stream, as well as capture methane emissions from existing landfills and convert them to useable energy. The proposal consists of 22 waste recovery projects focused on the technologies of landfill gas recovery, composting and anaerobic digestion. The Peru project is one of five ambitious proposals that has been selected to go forward in the DPP, from an original application pool of 58 projects worldwide. Learn More!
Recycle Organics Program
In partnership with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the Global Methane Hub (GMH) and LEDS LAC, the Recycle Organics Program supports over 20 countries around the world to reduce methane emissions within the waste sector. The Program has a particular focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), since they historically contribute the least to climate change but are typically hit the hardest by its cascading effects. The Program aims to build on the success of the Global Methane Pledge and accelerate participating countries’ progress towards achieving a circular and carbon-neutral waste sector. CCAP and its partner ImplementaSur provide technical assistance and develop a pipeline of the projects within the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) sector, while helping countries overcome regulatory barriers and creating enabling frameworks for project execution. The goal is to facilitate conditions for a sustained expansion of organic waste management technologies and accelerate methane mitigation projects. Learn More!
.png)
bottom of page