Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative: Organic Waste Diversion Options & Waste to Energy Opportunities

The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight the opportunity for organic waste diversion from landfills for greenhouse gas emission reduction purposes. Duke University’s Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative (DCOI) is looking for opportunities to facilitate and catalyze offset projects, which will help Duke University become carbon neutral by 2024. The following analysis reviews different project opportunities related to organic waste composting and organic waste digestion and highlights the advantages of using anaerobic digestion to convert waste to energy and to use the composting co-product for other applications, including mulch for Duke University landscaping.