Greenhouse Gas Emission Modelling and Its Validation - A Case Study for Okhla Disposal Site

A key concern with the increasing waste generation and its improper management is emission of methane from disposal sites. Waste management contributed 14% of the total global methane emissions and about 3.45% of India’s total greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions in 2010 with 6,5052.47GgCO2eq emissions. In 2015, India committed to decrease its emissions intensity per unit gross domestic product by 33–35% below 2005 levelstill 2030.

This study was undertaken with an aim to evaluate the emissions from a non-engineered landfill site and validate the findings with past pilot study.This study is the first-of-its-kind in India providing an impetus for other cities to evaluate their non-engineered sites and validate models for better reporting purposes. The developed model can also help countries evaluate the impacts of their policies and rules in reducing GHG emissions.

A model for evaluating GHG emissions was developed based on IPCC 2006 methodology and site-specific inputs and validated with respect to a past study conducted at Okhla Landfill, Delhi, India. The model predicted site GHG emissions as 275 Gg CO2eqyr-1in the year 2011 and 285.5 Gg CO2 eqyr-1in 2017. The developed model on IPCC 2006 methodology was also validated and indicated 16.6% lower predicted value. The modelling exercise also estimated,a potential of 1,483.5 Gg CO2 eq GHG emission reduction till 2050 from Okhla disposal site, with an estimated peak emission suppression by 21.79%with intrusion of Swachh Bharat Mission and Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.