Environmental economy and greenhouse gas generation in a sanitary landfill in Mexico

Sanitary landfills are the most used way to dispose of the garbage generated in the country. In landfills, it is essential to know the amount of waste that is collected and disposed of, as well as its characteristics, such as density, composition, humidity, and calorific value, to design collection, transport, and final disposal systems. This work aims to determine the economic and environmental potential of the methane gas production of generated clean energy in a landfill in Mexico. This work considers standards developed for measuring gases released into the environment. An in situ sampling was carried out in a sanitary landfill in 36 biogas wells using a GA5000 analyzer. The emission of 28,965 tons of methane gas and 83,244 tons of carbon dioxide per day is estimated at the landfill. A negative externality can become positive when the use of solid urban waste produces electrical energy by capturing the greenhouse gases generated in the decomposition of the waste present in the landfill.