Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP)

This is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills and is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane. By preventing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, LMOP helps businesses, states, energy providers, and communities protect the environment and build a sustainable future.

The goal of the Landfill Methane Outreach Program is to promote the use of landfill gas as an energy source.

As of December 2005, LMOP has more than 490 Partners that have signed voluntary agreements to work with EPA to develop cost-effective LFG energy projects. LMOP has developed detailed profiles for over 1,300 candidate landfills. There are approximately 395 operational LFG energy projects in the United States. In addition, about 140 projects are currently under construction or are exploring development options and opportunities. To date, LMOP has assisted in the development of 300 LFG utilization projects - including all 21 new projects and 3 project expansions that went online in 2005. These 300 projects have prevented the release of nearly 21 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE - the basic unit of measure of greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere over the past 11 years. In the year 2005, all operational LFG energy projects in the United States prevented the release of 19 MMTCE. This reduction is the carbon equivalent of removing the emissions from 13.3 million vehicles on the road or planting 19 million acres of forest for one year. This reduction also has the same environmental benefit as preventing the use of 162 million barrels of oil or offsetting the use of 341,000 railcars of coal.