Recycling municipal waste can be done in several ways, including some alternative ways that have less of a harmful impact on the environment. Environmental recycle advocates point out that the old methods of taking care of municipal waste disposal are not effective, and cause great harm to the environment. Landfills are the least expensive municipal waste management, and this is the most commonly used method in the United States. But landfills have a large harmful environmental impact, in the form of leachate which can contain harmful metals and chemical pollutants, and this can get into the groundwater. Landfills also accumulate greenhouse gases, from the decomposition process, which contribute to global warming. There are other alternative methods of municipal waste disposal that can be more eco friendly, and some can be a used for conversion to energy source. Recycling municipal waste can be a source of energy for your home and car.

Pyrolysis is one alternative method for municipal waste management, and this method offers many benefits. In the pyrolysis process, organic matter thermally decomposes in an environment that is devoid of any oxygen. Gasification is another method for municipal waste disposal, and it follows much the same process as pyrolysis, except that the environment where the decomposition takes place has a small limited amount of oxygen, unlike pyrolysis where the environment has no oxygen. A heat source is required for the pyrolysis process, but no heat source is needed for gasification, because this process is self sustaining thermally. When both pyrolysis and gasification processes occur at the same time, the gasification combustion reactions can provide the heat source needed for the pyrolysis process to perform the reactions. In this process no heat source outside of the gasification process is needed for pyrolysis.

Pyrolysis produces synthesis gas as a major end product of the process. Synthesis gas, also called syngas, is a gas that contains a mixture of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and other hydrocarbons and inert ingredients. This gas can be turned into many different products, which can be sold. This makes both pyrolysis and gasification methods profitable, because of the sale of the various end products from Syngas. These alternative municipal waste recycling methods greatly reduce the amount of solid waste left over, which means much less space taken up in landfills. The environmental recycle methods used can be controlled to meet strict environmental pollution standards, making them much more environmentally friendly. Municipal solid waste is a sustainable and renewable source of energy, thanks to using the waste and the Syngas that can be produced from the waste as a conversion to energy source.

Municipal waste disposal, and municipal waste management methods, can be used to create energy, and greatly minimize or even eliminate municipal waste by using alternative municipal waste recycling methods. This means no landfill space being taken up, and end products that can be sold for a profit. Municipal waste conversion to energy source may be one of the big energy sources of the future, because homes and households contribute sixty percent of this waste, and garbage is one thing that will always be created by people. Municipal waste recycling helps the environment by eliminating any greenhouse gases from the landfills, there is no problem with landfill space not being available, even in highly populated areas where landfills are already full, and recycling municipal waste using pyrolysis and gasification results in products that can be sold for a profit.