[greenyes] EPA Estimates of GHG Advantage from Recycling

["Peter Anderson" <anderson@no.address>]

    Monica posted Henry Ferland's schedule of talks in California on the 
subject of his work for EPA documenting the GHG/energy advantages of 
recycling.

    Indeed Henry has done some wonderful stuff that we should be aware of to 
use when the opportunity arises.

    At the same time, however, be aware that those estimate of GHG 
(greenhouse gas) reductions are very substantially understated because he 
has to use EPA's made-up assumptions that claim landfills abate most of 
their gas emissions, including that of methane with 23 times the warming 
potential of CO2 -- rose colored assumptions that are so extreme (and based 
upon the most fundamental mistakes in basic definitions) that they are a 
mathematical impossibility.  In fact, the available evidence wouldn't 
support a collection efficiency even one-fourth as great as EPA assumes.

    With grass, leaves, food and paper constituting such a large fraction of 
waste generation (70.1%), and their being the source of most of the methane 
generated in modern landfills, one can see how a misstatement of the 
multiplier, which understates the volume of gases released by 4 times, can 
have enomous implications.

    It might be a good idea of those who go to Henry's speeches to ask that 
he update his report with scenario runs for lower gas capture rates to 
reflect reality, because, as the report now stands, recycling benefits to 
GHG are limited to reductions at the front end in mining, extraction and 
production, with the very major impacts at the back end effectively washed 
out with wholly unrealistically assumptions about gas collection efficiency.

                                                                             
            Peter

_________________________
Peter Anderson, President
RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING
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