Analysis of greenhouse gas generation and emission reduction countermeasures of municipal solid waste disposal units in the Yellow River Basin under the "Dual Carbon" goals

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment and disposal units are important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and clarifying their emission pattern is a prerequisite for formulating countermeasures for GHG reduction. Using the IPCC inventory model, GHG emissions from MSW disposal units in nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin were estimated from 2012 to 2022. The results showed that incineration became the main disposal method of MSW with a 58.05% share in 2020. GHG emissions from the nine provinces along the Yellow River increased from 22.848 million tons (in terms of CO₂ equivalent) in 2012 to 31.527 million tons in 2019, and then decreased year by year to 23.326 million tons in 2022. CO₂ generated from MSW incineration became the main source of GHG emissions in 2021. Among the provinces, Shandong, Sichuan and Henan were the provinces with higher emissions, while Ningxia had the lowest emissions. Strengthening landfill CH₄ emission reduction and resource utilization, further implementing MSW classification, improving recyclable waste resource utilization efficiency and cascading utilization of incineration waste heat are feasible strategies for carbon emission reduction in MSW disposal units.