This report analyzes why methane (landfill gas) emissions from South Korean regional landfills are poorly managed, and proposes necessary actions for effective methane emissions management.

Problems

1. Lack of Gas Capture Infrastructure: Most landfill gas generated in anaerobic landfills is released into the atmosphere as methane. While installing facilities to capture and convert this methane into energy can significantly reduce emissions, some landfills do not implement methane capture due to lack of economic feasibility, resulting in relatively high emission levels.

2. Discrepancy Between Design and Operation: Some Korean regional landfills are designed as semi-aerobic, which can reduce methane emissions compared to anaerobic landfills. However, due to inadequate on-site management, many landfills are actually operated anaerobically. This gap between design and actual operation leads to higher-than-expected methane emissions.

Recommendations

1. Comprehensive Government Survey: The government should conduct a full-scale inspection to identify:

   • The installation status of gas capture facilities in anaerobic landfills.

   • The feasibility of converting anaerobically operated landfills to semi-aerobic systems.

   • Identification of landfills that were designed to be semi-aerobical but operates anarobically in practice.

2. Pilot Projects for Conversion: Launch pilot programs to convert anaerobic landfills to semi-aerobic systems to assess economic feasibility and greenhouse gas reduction.

3. Establishment of National Roadmap: Based on pilot results, establish a roadmap to expand the conversion and standardized operation of semi-aerobic systems across all local landfills nationwide.