IGES’ Research on Waste
Management and Climate Change- Contributing to UNEP’s GPWM Dr. Magnus Bengtsson
Dr. Nirmala Menikpura
Sustainable Consumption and Production Group

9th Asia-Pacific Eco-Business Forum, 30-31 January 2013, Kawasaki

Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies (IGES)• IGES is a policy research institute promoting
sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region• The institute works closely with internationalorganisations, including UNEP, ADB and UNESCAP• The HQ is located in Hayama• Main funding organisations are MOEJ and KanagawaPrefecture• IGES employs around 90 researchersPhoto: Yasuhiko Hotta

IGES’ Work on Waste Managementand Climate: Background• 60–70 percent of municipal solid waste indeveloping Asian countries is organic• When disposed in open dumps and landfills, thiswaste generates methane – a strong greenhousegas• Globally, 2-3% of GHG emissions are from waste• With alternative treatment methods, theseemissions can be much reduced• Recycling of metals, glass, paper, plastics offers
additional climate benefits by reducing thedemand for new raw materials

The Potential of Alternative WasteTreatment: A Case Study• Muangklang Municipality, located in Rayong Province (190km East of Bangkok)• Consists of 13 communities covering 14.5 km2• Registered population within the Municipality:17,200 (Dec2010)• Muangklang was selected as one of Thailand’s three ModelCities under the ASEAN ESC Model Cities Programme• The municipality has initiated an integrated system for
waste management, incorporating source separation,effective waste collection and transport, waste sorting forrecovery of recyclables, anaerobic digestion, composting,and feeding of animals with organic waste

The Current Integrated Waste System inMuangklang

Emissions of Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse Gas emissions are calculated with a systems modelGHG Balance
Emissionsfrom thesystem itself

Emissionsavoided due
to resource
recoveryComparison with Conventional
Waste Treatment

 GHG emissions 13% lower than open dumping and 66%
lower than landfill disposal Large potential for further improvement

The Potential of Landfill Gas
Recovery: The Case of Bangkok• In principle, methane gas from landfills can becollected• The collected gas can be made less harmful(by burning it so that it becomes CO2) or usedas fuelCarbon Finance and Waste
Management in Asia 147 waste-related projects have been registeredunder the Clean Development Mechanism About half of these projects are on landfill gasrecovery

The Gas Recovery Project in Bangkok• Project start: 7 years after the closure of the landfill• Duration: 10 years• Total recovery: 12%

An Improved System Design

Electricity production capacity 3MW
Electricity production capacity 1MW• Project start: at the closure of the landfill• Duration: 20 years• Total recovery: 43%

Comparison of Three Scenarios

Summary of Findings• Muangklang– An Integrated System can have very significant climate
benefits over conventional treatment– Both diversion of organic waste away from landfills andrecycling are important– Large potential for improvement– Local governments play a key role

• Bangkok– Low efficiency of the current landfill gas project: 88% of
the climate impact remains– Improvements are possible but not economically attractive– Even an improved system will have large emissions– Carbon finance creates incentives for landfill gas projects
while there are better options (Integrated Systems)