When organic waste decomposes in a landfill, it releases methane — a potent greenhouse gas. Landfill gas collection systems capture that methane before it escapes into the atmosphere, and at San Diego's Miramar Landfill the captured gas is put to further use, fueling electrical generators at City water facilities.
This indicator tracks the percentage of landfill methane captured, and its value feeds directly into the city's annual greenhouse gas emissions calculations. The City operates gas collection systems at three landfills — Miramar, Otay, and Sycamore — but site-specific capture rate measurements are not currently available. The value below shows the default capture rate drawn from the U.S. Community Protocol, a standard methodology widely used by cities for greenhouse gas accounting. Should site-specific data become available in the future, the City would update this value accordingly.