Characterizing waste to cut emissions in Latin America

The waste sector is the third largest source of methane emissions, accounting for nearly 20% of global methane emissions. Most of this methane is produced from the decomposition of the degradable fraction of municipal waste in final disposal sites like sanitary landfills, open dumps, and controlled landfills. Tackling this problem makes it imperative to improve source separation and differentiated management (e.g., food waste, garden waste, cardboard, and paper), and to optimize landfill operations and close open dumps.

But methane is only part of the picture. Sustainable generation and management of solid waste remain global challenges that involve social, economic, political, and technical dimensions. According to the World Bank, global waste production will increase by 70% by 2050. Rapid population growth, urbanization (even in mid-sized cities), and changes in consumption patterns significantly affect the generation of municipal solid waste. And in Latin America alone, the Inter-American Development Bank estimate that, on average, 1 kilogram of waste per person is generated per day, 52% of which is organic. Approximately 95% of this waste is directed to some form of final disposal—predominantly sanitary landfills—while only 1% is used in processes such as composting, anaerobic digestion, or incineration, and the remaining 4% is recycled.

Although various technologies and strategies for waste management exist, effective implementation requires basic and accurate information. Data is an essential tool for national and municipal governments to design comprehensive public policies that address everything from sanitation to methane reduction. Without action, data remains underutilized; it is crucial to develop policies that promote an integrated waste management approach throughout the entire value chain—and especially in ways that are tailored to the specific realities at the municipal, regional, and country level.

What is municipal solid waste characterization and GHG Emissions Quantification, and what resources are available?

Municipal solid waste characterization is a systematic process that identifies and quantifies waste streams across various sub-sectors, particularly in residential areas. This process is essential for objectively understanding the amount and composition of generated waste, providing the foundation for designing comprehensive waste management policies and accurately estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In some countries, methodologies and the frequency of these studies are standardized, while in others the authority is delegated to municipalities, and in some cases, no clear institutional guidelines exist. Methodologies vary; some are applied through sampling at the generation point (prior to collection), while others are implemented at the final disposal site, depending on the study’s objectives and local capabilities.

Numerous free resources are available to support the implementation of these studies. Recently, the Global Methane Initiative and the United States Environmental Protection Agency published the Waste Characterization Handbook: Understanding Municipal Waste Streams to Develop Data-Driven Methane Mitigation Strategies. This handbook outlines the activities necessary to conduct waste characterization—from planning and field work to data tabulation and utilization. It also details how the collected data can be used with software tools to estimate GHG emissions, including:

• The Solid Waste Emissions Estimation Tool (SWEET) to understand the potential emissions reductions from various waste management scenarios.
• The Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Screening Tool to understand if specific organic feedstock could support an AD project.
• The Landfill Gas (LFG) Screening Tool to estimate how much landfill gas a site may produce and if the supply could support landfill gas to energy projects.

Additionally, methodologies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—updated in 2019 as a revision of the 2006 guidelines—offer models to calculate GHG emissions from final waste disposal (Volume 5, Chapter 3) and guidelines for estimating emissions from incineration and open burning (Chapter 5). These methodologies are used in national inventories, public policy proposals, action plans, and Nationally Determined Contributions.

At the city level, the Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories from the GHG Protocol provides a framework to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions generated both within and outside urban boundaries. Furthermore, in the corporate sector, there are methodologies and software—many aligned with ISO 16064—that allow for the quantification of emissions at the product, process, or facility level.

How are Latin American countries approaching solid waste characterization?

According to the Latin America and Caribbean Waste Management Outlook, there is currently available information on the generation and collection of municipal solid waste in the region. However, challenges remain in integrating data between national and local levels and in comparing records among countries due to the lack of harmonized indicators for waste generation and management.

In 2023, the Solid Waste and Circular Economy Hub was launched—a free, open-access data platform that allows monitoring of the sector’s evolution, as well as progress in mitigation and climate change. This tool features a dedicated data section where information on municipal waste generation, material flows, final disposal, recovery, and GHG emission estimates for Latin American and Caribbean countries can be accessed. The data, sourced from official statistical agencies, spans discontinuous records from 1998 to 2021, with a harmonized baseline set for 2021.

Regarding the methodologies for characterizing solid waste in the region, there is a lack of systematic information that allows for comparison of methodological differences or legal frameworks across countries. Below are some regional experiences:

Brazil

Law 12.305/2010 and the 2022 National Solid Waste Plan mandate the development of action plans that include studies on waste generation and gravimetric composition. In addition, the National Information System on Solid Waste Management provides updated databases that support the formulation of state, regional, intermunicipal, and municipal waste management plans.

Colombia

The Technical Regulation for the Potable Water and Basic Sanitation Sector, particularly Title F on Urban Sanitation Systems, provides guidelines for the physical, chemical, and biological characterization of solid waste, detailed specifically in section F1.4 of the procedure for developing urban sanitation systems.

Guatemala

The Directorate for the Management of Solid Waste and Debris of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is responsible for implementing the National Policy for the Integrated Management of Solid Waste and Debris (Government Agreement 281-2015) and for complying with the Regulation for the Integrated Management of Common Solid Waste and Debris (Government Agreement 164-2021). To support these efforts, technical and legal tools have been developed—including the Guide for Developing Studies on the Characterization of Waste and Debris—which help guide actions and facilitate information dissemination.

Mexico

Mexican technical standards, such as NMX‐AA‐061–1985 (for per capita estimation), NMX‐AA‐015–1985 (which describes the quartering sampling method), NMX‐AA‐019–1985 (for in situ determination of volumetric weight), and NMX‐AA‐022–1985 (focused on the selection and quantification of by-products), enable the standardization and accurate measurement of municipal solid waste generation and characteristics.

Peru

Resolution No. 457-2018-MINAM from the Ministry of Environment approved the Guide for the Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste, which enables provincial and district governments to carry out solid waste characterization studies.

Ecuador

In 2024, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition of Ecuador, through the Inclusive Circular Economy and Waste Management Project and with the support of CATF, published the Guide for the Quantification and Characterization of Non-Hazardous Solid Waste and Residues in Ecuadorian CantonsGuide for the Quantification and Characterization of Non-Hazardous Solid Waste and Residues in Ecuadorian Cantons. The main objective of this guide is to standardize the technical procedures for waste quantification and characterization studies, enabling municipalities to obtain precise and up-to-date data.

This standardization will facilitate informed decision-making in public policy planning, promote the circular economy, and combat climate change. At the local level, it will help optimize waste management infrastructure, anticipate trends, and project the future demand for sanitation services. Primarily aimed at municipal officials and technical professionals, the guide recommends updating these analyses every four years, ensuring the availability of reliable and relevant information for efficient solid waste management in the country.

Additionally, a summarizing the Ecuadorian government’s developed the guideline can be found here.

Turning data into action for climate-smart waste management

Reducing methane emissions from the waste sector begins with better data and stronger institutional coordination. By investing in robust waste characterization and emissions tracking—through both field‑based assessments and remote sensing — governments can develop more accurate inventories and identify targeted, cost‑effective solutions. In Latin America, where local governments often face resource and capacity constraints, improving data systems is essential to guide investment and policy. Integrating ground‑level information with remote sensing not only enhances precision but also helps prioritize actions where they are most needed. Strengthening technical capacities at the subnational level, harmonizing methodologies, and leveraging international cooperation are critical steps toward transforming waste management into a measurable and impactful climate mitigation strategy.

Satellite‑based monitoring has emerged as a valuable tool to complement local data and improve emission estimates from landfills. Platforms such as the European Space Agency’s Sentinel‑5P, NASA’s EMIT, Carbon Mapper’s Tanager-1 and GHGSat’s constellation of satellites provide important data to landfill operators and decision makers and  Carbon Mapper has led the way in identifying methane super‑emitters at landfills globally. From 2022 to 2025, it surveyed over 10 000 waste sites, detecting 371 super‑emitters across 71 countries—emitting an estimated 6.1 million tonnes of methane annually. Notably, Mexico, Brazil and Chile rank among Latin American countries with multiple landfill super‑emitters.

For Latin American governments, combining field assessments, satellite data, standardized inventories, and global datasets offers a clear pathway to climate‑smart waste management.