Evaluating the Ecological Footprint of Landfills: A Framework and Case Study of Fargo, North Dakota.

There is growing interest in better understanding the environmental impacts of landfills and optimizing their operation. Accordingly, we developed a holistic framework to calculate a landfill's Ecological Footprint (EF) and applied that to the Fargo, North Dakota, landfill. Parallelly, the carbon footprint and biocapacity of the landfill were calculated. We calculated the EF for six scenarios (i.e., cropland, grazing land, marine land, inland fishing ground, forest land, and built land as land types) and six operational strategies typical for landfills. Operational strategies were selected based on the variations of landfill equipment, the gas collection system, efficiency, the occurrence of fugitive emissions, and flaring. The annual EF values range from 124 to 213,717 global hectares depending on land type and operational strategy. Carbon footprints constituted 28.01-99.98% of total EF, mainly driven by fugitive emissions and landfill equipment. For example, each percent increase in Fargo landfill's fugitive emissions caused the carbon footprint to rise by 2130 global hectares (4460 tons CO2e). While the landfill has biocapacity as grazing grass in open spaces, it remains unused/inaccessible. By leveraging the EF framework for landfills, operators can identify the primary elements contributing to a landfill's environmental impact, thereby minimizing it.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on landfilling and recycling in the city of Fargo, North Dakota, USA.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted different aspects of human lifestyle, including waste generation and management. The landfilled and recycled waste volume from the City of Fargo's annual solid waste report between 2019 and 2021 was critically analyzed to understand these impacts. The analysis showed a 4.5% increase in the residential waste volume in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021, suggesting a pandemic-induced lockdown effect. The monthly residential waste volume was approximately 5-15% greater during the mandatory quarantine period (April - November 2020) than in 2019 and 2021. Commercial waste volume decreased by 12% during 2020 and then sharply increased in 2021 as commercial facilities reopened. The total recycling volume increased slightly by 2.5% in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021. Cardboard recycling showed a 5.8% increase in 2020 from 2019 and a 13% increase in 2021 compared to 2020. This was presumably caused by the reliance on online shopping during the pandemic and becoming habituated to online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact other classes of recycled waste volumes. In summary, COVID-19 affected landfilling and recycling in different capacities in the City of Fargo. The data will contribute to the global understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on solid waste management practices.Implications: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted waste generation and management. In Fargo, USA, the monthly residential waste volume increased by up to 15% during the mandatory quarantine period in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 and 2021. Conversely, the monthly commercial waste volume decreased during the mandatory quarantine period in 2020. The commercial waste volume increased in 2021 as commercial activities became normal. The cardboard recycling increased significantly because people became used to online shopping during the lockdown, and the practice continues. The findings will contribute to the global understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on solid waste management practices.