St. Francis Xavier University’s FluxLab received $1 million in funding to study landfill emissions.
A release from STFX states FluxLab undertook a project collecting methane measurements at 12 landfills in three regions across the country to better understand major emission sources from solid waste landfill operations.
Field engineer Shadman Sakib working on site at a landfill in Nova Scotia in 2023
Dr. David Risk, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at STFX, said a couple of years ago the Canadian government signed an international agreement called the global methane pledge, in which all the signees agreed to reduce methane. He noted landfills are a big source of methane.
A release stated the aim of FluxLab’s study was to address critical data gaps by conducting a systematic measurement study to define methane sources, their variation, mitigation opportunities, and potential for improved modeling. The study took place last year, with Risk noting they had over 100 days of people in the field at landfills in Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia taking measurements.
Right now, Risk said they are taking information from two studies to get an estimate of the methane inventory for the country.