Politics & Government

Manchester Landfill Is County's Biggest Industrial Polluter, EPA Map Shows

New EPA emissions map pinpoints landfill, power plants as sources of greenhouse gases

The in Manchester emits the most greenhouse gases in the county, according to a new interactive map from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that pinpoints what the agency says are the biggest culprits in contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

Considered a key factor in global warming, greenhouse gases are the byproduct of a number of industrial reactions. The mapping tool allows users to search by type of facility as well as by state, though it doesn't take into account some widespread sources of greenhouses gases, such as vehicle transportation.

In Ocean County, five sites caught the EPA's attention, with the most greenhouse gases originating from the Ocean County Landfill in Manchester. Like other landfills, it constantly gives off a mix of carbon dioxide and methane, which, according to the EPA, is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

Find out what's happening in Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to the EPA, Ocean County's landfill emissions are the third highest in the state out of the 20 counties included in the mapped data, after Bergen and Middlesex. Overall, however, Ocean ranks low on the list of counties for total emissions.

The interactive map collates data about six pollutants: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, PFC-14, PFC-116, HFC-23 and methane, measured in metric tons (MT). For reference, according to the EPA, the average American is responsible for adding 4 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. 

Find out what's happening in Manchesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The most recent data, from 2010, shows the following Ocean County sites on the map:

  • Ocean County Landfill, Route 70 in Manchester, emitted 178,731 MT of methane and 113 MT of carbon dioxide.
  • Lakewood Cogeneration, off Airport Road in Lakewood, emitted 141,749 MT of carbon dioxide.
  • Ocean Peaking Power (shares a location with Lakewood Cogeneration), emitted 115,726 MT of carbon dioxide.
  • Oyster Creek Power Plant, Route 9 in Forked River, emitted 10,028 MT parts of carbon dioxide.
  • Cedar Power Station, Route 9 in Cedar Run, emitted 4,988 MT of carbon dioxide

According to NJSpotlight: "In New Jersey, the list of top stationary sources of greenhouse emissions includes 41 power plants in the state, four refineries, a number of garbage incinerators, a brewery in Newark, 18 landfills, including a superfund toxic waste site, and most of the big universities, including Rutgers University, and hundreds of chemical plants."

To access the interactive map, check out the EPA website.


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