The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the agency managing wastewater and solid wastes for Los Angeles County, claims to have reduced its combined greenhouse gas emissions by more than 362,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
The agency announced those environmental successes in its document on “Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: The Sanitation Districts’ Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiatives.” The document cites seven GHD reduction initiatives in achieving and exceeding its decarbonization goals equivalent to taking 78,000 cars off the road.
The seven initiatives considered in the document were biogas-to-electricity, alternative fuels, commodities recycling, water recycling, biosolids management, food waste diversion, and green waste diversion.
"Our mission is to convert waste into resources. For decades, we and our partners have undertaken activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, by converting sewage into recycled water, we reduce the need to import water, the energy used to import water and the greenhouse gas emissions used to create energy," said Robert C. Ferrante, Chief Engineer and General Manager for the Sanitation Districts. "We're proud to have exceeded carbon neutrality in 2021 and are looking for more ways to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions."
Biogas created at the agency's landfills and wastewater treatment plants is converted to electricity and in 2021, sufficient electricity was generated to power 23,000 homes. The other initiatives, like vehicle fuel, commodities recycling, water recycling, using alternatives to fossil fuel, biosolids management and green waste management, helped avoid 362,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents.
The biogas-to-electricity facilities of the agencies generated 45 MW of green electricity, avoiding 190,000 MTCO2e of GHG emissions. By building charging stations and using alternative fuels for vehicles, GHG emissions were reduced by 3,400 MTCO2e.
