To the Editor,
Re: Kitchen waste isn’t CO2 culprit, Letters, Aug. 18
A letter recently claimed, “CO2 from food/waste compost is a miniscule contribution to the environment.” Would you say the same of diesel-powered tractor trailers?
Let me explain. Landfills produce the greenhouse gas known as methane (CH4). It is 86 times more powerful per molecule at warming the world than CO2. According to a 2019 report from the ACRD, the compost program should reduce methane emissions by 45 tonnes annually which is the same as avoiding 3879 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. That’s a big number.
According to a 2010 report from the B.C. government, in the City of Port Alberni, diesel powered tractor trailer trucks emitted 4800 tonnes of CO2. So the greenhouse gas reductions from this new program will be like removing more than three quarters of all the tractor trailers we see in Port Alberni every year. For a small city and region like ours, those kinds of reductions make a huge difference. Congratulations to the ACRD, the city and all the residents who are about to participate in taking this important step to reduce GHG emissions.
Chris Alemany,
Port Alberni
