When it comes to waste and carbon, one area that is often overlooked in businesses is the hidden cost of carbon in waste streams. It can sometimes be challenging to see the connection as it is not always given the attention it deserves in the industry. When you think about carbon emissions, it’s easy to picture the major emitters – like fossil fuels, agricultural fields, and transportation networks. But where does waste fit into the global carbon emissions puzzle? And more importantly, where is the untapped potential to reduce carbon emissions by thinking differently about your approach to waste?

In this article, we explore how carbon and waste are related, and unpack how you can tap into the hidden potential to reduce carbon in your waste streams.

The Connection Between Waste and Your Business’ Carbon Footprint

A good place to start is to understand where waste falls into carbon by looking at how it is classified in the different emission scopes. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol categorises a company’s GHG footprint into three different scopes of emissions. These include Scope 1, 2 and 3 which cover different areas as outlined below:

Scope 1: emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources

Scope 2: emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy

Scope 3: emissions are all the indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain including both upstream and downstream emissions

So, where does waste fall into all of this? Solid waste generated through operations is classified under scope 3 emissions. It is estimated that in total, scope 3 emissions can account for over 70% of the carbon footprint for many businesses. On average, 4-5% of a business’s carbon footprint comes from waste. The challenge is that while Scope 3 emissions are generally larger than Scope 1 and 2 combined, they are trickier to monitor, hence why they can fall under the radar.

The Cost of Carbon

Waste emissions accumulate quickly, so where are the hidden emissions and how can you reduce them? Prioritising green procurement, tackling food waste, and considering the distance to transport facilities are three key areas to focus on.

1. Greener Choices: Reduce Your Emissions Upfront Through Sustainable Procurement

Everything we waste takes energy and carbon to extract, manufacture, produce, transport, use and discard. The single biggest thing any organisation can do to reduce its impact is to reduce the waste generated in the first place. This is what we like to call avoidance on the waste hierarchy and it is the first call to action to reduce carbon emissions (Read: How to start your Zero Waste Journey).

The startling truth is that our global consumption is already more than one and a half times the earth’s carrying capacity, and we are on track to need two earths by 2030, so we need to start thinking differently to change this. The ‘Waste not, Want not’ philosophy prioritising minimising waste and keeping resources in circularity to support a circular economy and SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production (Read: Achieving the SDGs through waste management).

There are many things your organisation can do to avoid and reduce waste, one example is switching to reusable options for your employees. For instance, if 100 employees at your workplace switched from single-use to reusable cups, in a year you could achieve a carbon saving of 921.10 kg of CO₂ equivalent. You can estimate what these savings might look like in your organisation using the Keep Cup Impact Calculator. With Plastic Free July coming up you can implement a few changes in your business to switch to reuse and achieve a carbon saving (Read: Plastic Free July Tips for Business). Small changes add up and make a difference.

2. Food for thought: do you know the hidden Carbon impact of your food waste?

Addressing food waste is another opportunity to decrease the carbon footprint within your waste streams. This is due to the fact that, on average, food waste constitutes one third of a general waste stream and contributes significantly to carbon emissions at the end of its lifecycle.

Globally, one-third of all produced food goes to waste, according to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), amounting to approximately 1.3 billion tons annually. Food waste constitutes the largest category of landfill refuse, occupying nearly 20% of landfill space and also contributing to roughly 8% of GHG emissions. When food waste is sent to landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas roughly 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The decomposition process contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the absence of sunlight and oxygen in landfill conditions, food waste is unable to decompose naturally and hence produces methane.

Don’t Waste can help you by taking a data-driven approach to managing food waste, and providing solutions for both on-site and off-site treatment of food waste.

3. Transport matters: Are you driving up your emissions?

Unfortunately, emissions from waste don’t end once it is in the bin. Another often overlooked source of carbon emissions lies in waste collection and transportation. The logistics of moving waste from the place of generation (e.g, your business) to the treatment destination including composting sites, recycling facilities, or landfills generates carbon.

The link between waste transportation and your carbon footprint is centred on two main areas:

• Emissions from transportation vehicles: Since most waste is still transported via petrol-powered vehicles, the distance to treatment centres significantly influences the carbon emissions. For instance, transporting waste to a nearby landfill may in cases result in lower carbon emissions than transporting it long distances to a recycling facility in a remote area. The proximity to treatment facilities is crucial factor where the cost of carbon is overlooked.How can businesses overcome this challenge? Opting for local service providers and treatment facilities is key. At Don’t Waste, we prioritise local and have a comprehensive list of service providers nationwide that can be tailored to your site. We understand that each site is unique and can adapt accordingly to meet your requirements.
• Carbon footprint of waste treatment facilities: the destination of your waste also plays a role in your business’ carbon emissions. Landfills, for example, release methane potent GHG contributing to climate change. Every type of waste treatment option will have an environmental impact. However, we’ve found that adhering to the waste hierarchy in selecting treatment options ensures we maximise environmental outcomes for our clients. Recycling, composting, waste-to-energy recovery, and alternative waste management practices offer significant benefits to the environment compared to landfilling or other disposal methods.
• The Don’t Waste system offers the ability to calculate the environmental savings associated with different treatment, so you can understand the carbon savings associated with each (Read: Communicating your Environmental Performance).

We’re Here to Help 

Navigating the relationship between carbon, cost and waste can be challenging but the good news is we’re here to partner with you to make the journey easier. Reducing your business’ carbon footprint associated with waste is not only beneficial for the planet but also makes good business sense.

Our partners at Green Gap Consulting can further aid you by calculating your carbon footprint, advisory and assist you with gaining a Net Zero Waste Certification.

Author: Melissa van Rensburg | Senior Consultant at Green Gap Consulting