People live within one mile of a landfill
Landfills did not meet environmental standards
of landfills have emissions exceeding levels reported to the EPA, according to satellite data.
AMERICA'S HIDDEN LANDFILL EMISSIONS
When you toss out your garbage, you likely realize it is destined for a landfill. But the impact of our waste isn’t limited to the ground. Many landfills bordering American neighborhoods and commercial areas release dangerous pollution that contributes to climate change and impacts human health. A close look at the data and new measurements show the scale of this expanding challenge.
There are more than 1,100 municipal solid waste landfills in the United States.
Municipal Landfill
2023 Significant Violations
Multiple 2023 Significant Violations
Informal Enforcement Actions
Formal Enforcement Actions
History of Violations
Potentially Underestimated
Environmental Justice Concern
America's Landfills
Environmental Defense Fund estimates that there are nearly 2 million people living within one mile of these landfills. This includes 120,000 children under the age of five, 920,000 people of color, and 260,000 residents living in poverty — these groups live near landfills at higher rates compared to the nation at-large.
If you’re wondering how many municipal landfills are located near you, check out our interactive map — it shows individual landfill location and emission levels across the United States and its territories.
All mentions of 'landfills' refer to the 92.1% of municipal solid waste landfills that self-report their emissions data to the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
Landfills are the third-largest source of human-caused methane emissions in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Methane is a powerful climate pollutant with 80 times more warming power than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period.
Ninety-two percent of municipal solid waste landfills across America self-report their emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Some of these landfills have not consistently met clean air standards and environmental safeguards meant to protect public health and the environment. Additionally, satellite data suggests many landfills pollute at rates far higher than reported.
Satellite and aerial monitoring data shows elevated emissions from landfills.
This new satellite data shows that landfill pollution is greater than inventory estimates and brings an increased level of urgency to mitigate the pollution problem.
For example, 47 of the 70 landfills surveyed by the TROPOMI satellite showed emissions exceeding the levels reported to the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program in 2019.
Updated EPA landfill standards are urgently needed.
The EPA's current standards for landfill performance must be strengthened to mitigate their staggering level of emissions. In 2021, landfills emitted approximately 3.7 million metric tons of methane, according to the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Satellite measurements suggest actual inventory emissions could be over 6 million metric tons.
There is an important opportunity for EPA to revise and set new standards for landfills that better safeguard public health and the planet.
In a petition sent to the EPA, EDF and numerous other signatories identified commonsense updates to the standards, including ensuring that more landfills use gas collection and control systems and more comprehensive monitoring standards, among other improvements.
A separate recent analysis published in the journal Science found significant point source emissions at a majority (52%) of surveyed sites, many with emissions persisting over multiple revisits (weeks to years). These landfills are included in those measured by Carbon Mapper.
Landfills in Violation
Landfill methane is part of the EPA's National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives, a program prioritizing oversight of certain industries to protect our water, air, and land.
Landfills with violations indicate they are not consistently achieving the standards meant to protect both the environment and people's health — standards for clean air, clean surface water, safe drinking water, and hazardous waste disposal.
In late 2023, 21% of landfills — 230 in total — had some violations. Of municipal landfills reporting violations, 90 were operating with significant violations in late 2023 of our nation's bedrock environmental laws: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
From 2021 through 2023, more than one-third of municipal landfills — 403 in total — incurred some violation.
Enforcing The Law
The EPA issues both informal and formal enforcement actions to address violations. Informal enforcement actions include warning letters and notices of violations, while formal enforcement can lead to penalties and settlements. Typically, formal enforcement actions are filed by the agency in response to more serious violations.
Landfills located in areas where ozone and particulate matter air pollution are already at dangerous levels face some of the most formal enforcement actions.
A National Issue
Noncompliance occurs at landfills near communities that are already environmentally burdened nationwide. Fifteen percent of municipal landfill facilities had a history of some violations as of 2023 and are located in areas with high rates of environmental justice indicators — a national total of 164. EPA environmental justice indicators are based on the highest intersection of low-income populations, people of color, and a given environmental indicator, such as ozone level in the air.
People of color and people in low-income households live near landfills at higher rates relative to the United States as a whole.
The Bigger Picture
As we mentioned above, beyond self-reporting, satellites are another — more accurate — way to measure landfill emissions. Satellites can measure greenhouse gas emissions from space and, by using direct measurement rather than models, produce more accurate emissions estimates.
In 2019, the TROPOMI instrument collected satellite emissions data from municipal landfills and revealed that 67% of landfills had emissions exceeding levels reported to the EPA.
To measure methane emissions and provide the data freely to everyone, Environmental Defense Fund launched MethaneSAT in March of 2024. Its satellite will provide global, high-resolution coverage of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, as well as surface-level methane emissions from other major sources of methane, including landfills. MethaneSAT will also be able to identify methane sources that aren't prioritized or aren't detectable by existing satellites.
To see measured emissions from landfills, explore our map.