New Resource | A Practical Guidebook for Methane Mitigation in the Waste Sector
- Recycle Organics
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
Around the world, the way we manage organic waste is shaping the future of our climate. The waste sector generates about 20% of human-caused methane emissions, a greenhouse gas 86 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year timeframe. This is caused when its organic fraction is left to decompose in landfills. The high organic content of solid waste makes it one of the most urgent targets for rapid, effective methane-mitigation strategies.
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where organic material makes up roughly half of the waste stream, countries are transforming this challenge into an opportunity and demonstrating strong global leadership. The “Transformative Action in the Waste Sector for LAC” initiative, financed by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), is accelerating methane-reducing waste projects through three pillars:
Building regional capacity by generating knowledge and sharing best practices
Strengthening public policies to create enabling regulatory frameworks
Developing investment plans aligned with national climate goals
In this context—and drawing on nearly a decade of expertise in waste policy, climate finance and hands-on implementation—the Recycle Organics Program developed a new resource:
Methane Mitigation in the Waste Sector: A Practical Guidebook for Designing Policies and Investment Plans to Accelerate Action in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Wider Global South (available in English & Spanish).
The Recycle Organics Program—led by CCAP and ImplementaSur with CCAC support—produced the Guidebook to equip countries and investors with practical tools for scaling sustainable waste solutions quickly and effectively.
From our Leadership
“The Guidebook is the first pragmatic, step-by-step roadmap for developing sound public policies and assessing the investment needs to achieve the climate goals countries have committed to in their NDCs. While plenty of literature tells us what to do, this Guidebook shows how to do it—it’s clear, technical and focused on real-world deployment.” – Allison Bender-Corbett | CCAP Executive Director
“Designed to work across contexts and development stages, it distills a decade of experience in shaping sustainable waste policies, projects and investment plans. It’s a resource to return to again and again—to design projects, unlock funding and drive methane reductions on the ground—giving implementers a tool they can use and funders a clear view of what they’re backing.” – Gerardo Canales | ImplementaSur Director
From Methane Pledges to Real Progress
The need for rapid action is clear. By mid-2025, 65% of Paris Agreement countries had added methane-reduction measures to their latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or climate plans—a 38% increase from pre-2020 commitments—yet global methane emissions continue to rise. Meeting the Global Methane Pledge target of a 30% reduction by 2030 depends on the swift deployment of proven, ready-to-implement waste sector measures. Opportunities to tackle organic waste emissions exist through technologies like composting, anaerobic digestion, vermicomposting, landfill gas capture and black soldier flies.
If these measures come into fruition, the potential benefits are transformative: 0.2°C less warming by 2050, 180,000 fewer premature deaths and nearly 19 million tonnes of avoided crop losses every year by 2030. These impacts translate into more than USD $330 billion in annual benefits, underscoring the importance of closing the investment gap and mobilizing development and private finance.
What the Guidebook Offers
This new Guide is a practical, step-by-step, living tool that gives governments and organizations practical guidance on developing enabling public policies and plans to achieve their methane-reduction goals—accelerating climate action across the Global South.
More than a compilation, it presents a dynamic framework shaped by methodologies and real-world, regional insights from organizations and governments across LAC. This hands-on resource is designed to guide users through planning, funding and implementation, allowing them to reference it at any stage of development, revisit chapters as projects and plans evolve and use it as a framework to scale impact.
Designed to help a wide range of stakeholders to:
Develop national organic waste management strategies
Launch voluntary organic waste recovery initiatives
Implement sustainable waste-financing mechanisms
Integrate composting into school programs
Assess investment needs to meet methane-reduction goals
Grounded in Real Regional Experience
While developing this project, Recycle Organics created investment plans for Honduras, Uruguay and Brazil, along with tailored policy packages for each country’s unique context. The lessons from these processes form the backbone of the Guidebook—now available for the entire region and beyond to strengthen capacity to plan, finance and implement effective waste-related methane-mitigation measures.
A Practical Framework for Policy & Investment
The Guidebook answers core questions faced by governments, cities, investors and practitioners:
How do we design and implement effective public policies and investment plans?
How do we move from strategy to real, financed projects?
How do we ensure methane recovery creates value and reduces emissions and pollution?
It offers actionable tools, successful case studies and adaptable guidelines for different institutional contexts—supporting decision-makers, planners, legislators, NGOs, think tanks, scholars and others working in waste management, the circular economy and GHG mitigation.
Structure of the Guidebook:
Section 1: Guidelines for developing actionable public policies that promote methane mitigation in the waste sector
Section 2: Guidance for creating investment plans that equip countries with the infrastructure and projects needed to achieve their climate and waste-management goals
Reducing methane emissions in this decade will shape the climate for generations to come. By strengthening policies, mobilizing finance and accelerating proven waste solutions, countries can deliver fast, measurable results and help mitigate the cascading effects of climate change. This Guidebook provides the tools to make this happen.
Start building the policies, projects and investments that move your country from commitment to implementation.
Download the Guidebook today.
About the Recycle Organics Program
In total, RO’s project portfolio spans over 50 initiatives across 25 developing countries worldwide that could mitigate up to +31 million tons of CO2e over the next 20 years and divert more than 700,000 tons of organic waste from landfills each year, extending their lifespan. The Program accomplishes this through advancing policies, building regional capacities, accelerating green projects, raising awareness and developing custom strategies and investment plans, aligned with each country’s unique climate goals.
Overall, the Recycle Organics Program helps countries take meaningful action to cut methane emissions from organic waste, a critical step in tackling climate change. By supporting NDCs and advancing the Global Methane Pledge, the Program plays a key role in helping countries reduce waste sector emissions and meet international commitments.
Led by CCAP and ImplementaSur, Recycle Organics delivers significant environmental, economic and social benefits to local communities around the world.
The RO Program is also funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (supporting six Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean and Pacific regions) and the Global Methane Hub (supporting a LAC Community of Practice).
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CCAP’s mission is to support every step of climate action, from ambition to implementation. A recognized world leader in climate policy and action, CCAP creates innovative, replicable climate solutions, strengthens capacities, and promotes best practices across the local, national, and international levels to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, climate resilient future. CCAP was founded in 1985 and is based in Washington, DC.