It took a bit longer than expected, but our Climate Smart Task Foce completed Hurley's Local Government Operations Inventory in December for the year 2019. The delay was caused by the decision to include estimated data from the landfill.*
We hope you'll take a few minutes to read the report posted here. For the year 2019, GHG emission from municipal operations is estimated at 5,523 Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MTCO2e).
As you can see in these charts, emissions form the former landfill dwarf other operational sectors. In fact, 88% is ascribed to the landfill alone in 2019. Omitting landfill emissions, buildings and facilities make up remaining bulk of town emissions.
Since then, a mini-split heat pump system was installed at the Town Hall (2021) which is expected to reduce energy use and lower costs. The process of monitoring that is called Benchmarking, and the CSTF hopes to make that comparison in the next year. Landfill emissions likely peaked around 1996, and will drastically lessen by 2050. Emissions from the fleet of town vehicles also add a significant amount of emissions, and the town has one electric vehicle at this time.
* Estimates for the landfill are based on a general model, that multiplies the number of town residents for any given year, by a national average amount of waste, for every year the landfill was used. We may be able to obtain more accurate numbers in the future, if methane emissions can be monitored and measured directly at the site.
Comments