Citation: BP, N.; Tabaroei, A.; Garg, A. Methane Emission and Carbon Sequestration Potential from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, India. Sustainability 2023, 15, 7125. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su15097125 Academic Editor: Silvia Fiore Received: 10 March 2023 Revised: 16 April 2023 Accepted: 18 April 2023 Published: 24 April 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Methane Emission and Carbon Sequestration Potential from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, India Naveen BP 1, * , Abdollah Tabaroei 2 and Ankit Garg 3 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Amity University Haryana, Gurugram 122412, Haryana, India 2 Department of Civil Engineering, Eshragh Institute of Higher Education, Bojnourd 9453155168, Iran; a.tabaroei@eshragh.ac.ir 3 Department of Civil Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; ankit@stu.edu.cn * Correspondence: bpnaveen@ggn.amity.edu; Tel.: +91-99-1623-2349 Abstract: Quantities of waste generation are drastically increasing every day, and most of the waste is disposed of through open dumps and landfilling. Methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide are major greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced from landfill sites. However, the global-warming potential of methane is 21 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. Hence, there is immense concern for its utilization from landfill sites. In developing countries, the composition of municipal solid waste (MSW) has high amounts of biodegradable waste (50–60%). This leads to higher emissions of GHGs a per ton of MSW compared to the developed world. In this study, the attempt will be made to estimate the amount of carbon stored in MSW burial in landfills. Tests were conducted in two different locations at the Mavallipura landfill. MSW samples were collected for every meter interval (1–2 m, 2–3 m and so on) up to 6 m. The result shows that carbon stored in organic matter increases with depth from approximately 2.2% at 1.0 m depth to 4.8% at 6 m depth. Based on MSW’s carbon storage factor and data on MSW generation, global carbon sequestration from MSW burial in the Mavallipura landfill is estimated to be at least 10 million metric tons per year. In additional, the study aims to quantify methane-gas production from the ward levels and the Mavallipura landfill site in India. Keywords: Bangalore; biodegradable; carbon stored; municipal solid waste; landfill 1. Introduction A harmonious and balanced relationship between humans and nature on the Earth is vital for the existence of life and sustainable development. As civilization advanced, humans directly or indirectly interfered with the natural environment for its comfort. Ur- banization is a significant phenomenon that varies in social, economic, and environmental dimensions [1]. We have witnessed the dramatic shift in populations from rural to urban areas and the extensive expansion of the metropolitan regions [2]. At present, global climate change plays a vital role in environmental challenges facing society. Consequently, more than 75% of global anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions have been produced from cities [2]. Meanwhile, large amounts of carbon have been identified in urban environments such as vegetation and soils and anthropogenic ones, including buildings and landfills [3]. Therefore, urban ecosystems’ carbon cycle has received con- siderable attention during recent years [4]. The research focused prirmarily on carbon storage in natural pools [5] and, rarely, on carbon stored in landfills (anthropogenic pools). Due to the drastic growth in population and improved living standards, solid waste has escalated across the world [6]. In developing countries, the rate of MSW generated per capita per year increased from 357.7–445.3 kg in the 1960s to 567–759.2 kg in the 2000s and for developing countries, from 40.2 to 284.7 kg in the 1980s to 109.5 to 525.6 kg in 2000s [6]. A landfill is the cheapest disposal method of solid waste; currently, landfilling Sustainability 2023, 15, 7125. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097125 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability