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:
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 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:
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:
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:
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.
