How much methane seeps out of Oregon landfills?

Think Out Loud

Earlier this year, the Washington state Department of Ecology wrote new rules to regulate methane emissions from landfills that surpass federal emission regulations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality wrote its own rules in 2021 and has been collecting data from landfills for the last two years. About 30% of today’s global warming is driven by methane. Heather Kuoppamaki, senior environmental engineer at DEQ, joins us to share what we know about methane emissions from Oregon’s landfills.