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Climate New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2007: An overview Online version
Archived publication
This publication is no longer current or has been superseded.
Waste sector
The waste sector includes emissions from the disposal of solid waste, wastewater handling and incineration of waste. Greenhouse gas emissions from waste are predominantly methane, formed from decaying organic waste. Small amounts of nitrous oxide are generated from the decomposition of human waste and the incineration of solvents. The only carbon dioxide emissions included are from the incineration of waste with a fossil origin. Carbon dioxide emissions from the breakdown of organic material are not reported because the carbon dioxide emitted is assumed to be reabsorbed by growth in vegetation and other organic matter in the following year. Figure 11 provides an indication of emissions from the waste sector in 2007.
In 2007, solid waste disposal on land represented 79 per cent (1.4 Mt CO2-e) of total waste emissions. These emissions had decreased by 30 per cent (0.6 Mt CO2-e) from the 1990 level of 2.1 Mt CO2-e.
Wastewater handling contributed 21 per cent (0.38 Mt CO2-e) of total waste emissions in 2007. These emissions had increased by 6 per cent (0.02 Mt CO2-e) from the 1990 level of 0.36 Mt CO2-e.
Waste incineration accounted for 0.1 per cent (0.002 Mt CO2-e) of total waste emissions in 2007. These emissions had decreased by 85 per cent (0.012 Mt CO2-e) in 2007 from the 1990 level of 0.015 Mt CO2-e.
