The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that municipal solid waste landfills generate approximately 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide. However, while their amounts may be roughly the same, scientists calculate that methane is at least 23-25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In 2009, over 600 million tons of methane were released into the atmosphere by the U.S. By the year 2020, scientists project that global methane emissions may increase by 20%.

There is general agreement that methane accounts for up to one-third of the human contribution to global warming. After the methane generated by the enteric fermentation of livestock, our landfills are the next biggest contributor, and may account for 23% of the methane attributable to human actions.

Paper's Role in Methane Production

Despite our move toward a paperless society, the fact is that the production of paper and paper-related products is increasing at ever faster rates, and this paper will eventually find its way to solid waste landfills. Currently, EPA statistics claim that decomposing paper and packaging products account for a third of the refuse in U.S. landfills.

When paper and other organic waste are deposited into a landfill they start to undergo aerobic decomposition (with oxygen present). As oxygen diminishes within the first year, small amounts of methane are produced. This is referred to as methanogenesis. Afterwards, with anaerobic conditions taking over (no oxygen present), methane production rapidly increases, trapping heat in the atmosphere and creating potentially disastrous greenhouse effects. Methane's greenhouse potency nearly matches that of all of the other non-carbon dioxide gases combined, and compared with carbon dioxide is 23 times more powerful.

Enter Biolithe

There are a variety of ways to redirect paper away from landfills, including recycling, composting, and energy generation projects. However, 100% compliance with these efforts is a lofty and impossible dream, and it is safe to assume that enormous quantities of paper and packaging will continue to wind up in landfills. That's where Biolithe comes in.

Composed of all-natural, low-toxicity chemical compounds, Biolithe effectively stops and slows the production of methane without disturbing the surrounding environment. In fact, Biolithe works by employing nature to out-compete the methanogens (specialized methane-producing microbes) for access to their main energy source: degrading bio-waste, including paper. No other company can do what Biolithe does.