Ecology awards $9.6 million for landfill methane reduction

OLYMPIA  – 

A new competitive grant program from the Washington Department of Ecology will fund projects at 13 landfills across the state to better measure and contain methane before it escapes into the atmosphere. This will help operators meet new compliance requirements under Washington’s Landfills—Methane Emissions Law through the installation of new equipment, monitoring, repairs, and design planning.

“Methane is an extraordinarily potent greenhouse gas,” said Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller. “This grant program will help us work with landfills to find better ways to reduce their methane emissions and meet their compliance obligations.”

Reducing the methane created by these landfills is a critical piece of Washington’s statewide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Methane is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, behind carbon dioxide, and decomposing organic material in landfills is one of the largest sources of methane. 

“As organic materials — such as food scraps and yard clippings — break down in landfills, methane gas can escape into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change,” says Kathy Taylor, who manages Ecology’s Air Quality program. “These grants will help landfill owners reduce their methane emissions and comply with the 2022 Landfills-Methane Emissions Law by funding repairs and upgrades to gas collection and control systems, and more monitoring of surface emissions."

To qualify for a grant, landfills had to meet the “municipal solid waste” designation, meaning they handle primarily trash from homes and people, and be subject to certain compliance requirements.The grants are funded by the Climate Commitment Act and range from $25,000 to $2.6 million.

What goes down, mustn’t come up

Yakima County has two qualifying landfills, Cheyne and Terrace Heights, that are installing new gas collection and control systems that were not previously required. 

“Grant funding is very important to our operations,” said Karma Suchan, Yakima County’s solid waste manager. “Yakima County is an economically challenged area, so changes in regulations, requirements, and industry standards without grant funding directly impacts our customers through increased garbage fees.” 

This grant will give more than $1 million to help these two landfills pay for the cost of meeting new requirements and ease the cost to customers.

Complying with Washington’s new methane regulations

Among the requirements of the new methane law is an annual report, the first of which is due in April 2026. These reports will help create a baseline for Ecology to more accurately determine how much methane is released each year, and what kind of controls are most effective.