College Park Wastes and Emissions

The Committee for a Better Environment (CBE) of the City of College Park has recently released data on the waste and emission generated by various entities within the city.

The largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is the stationary energy use at the University of Maryland, emitting 54 percent of total emissions. This is largely due to the high numbers of students living on campus and the relatively large and densely packed buildings compared to other areas of College Park.

However, it is also important to keep in mind that one reason the University might seem like such a large emitter is that it keeps better track of its emissions beyond general electricity and analogous data is not available for the general community. For instance, residents do not report when they use propane for their backyard grills, but the University tracks many of those types of emissions.

The second largest contributors are stationary commercial users, which comprise 21.5 percent of the total.

The third largest contributors are the on-road vehicles, which contribute 16.8 percent, followed by residential users, wastes, and finally aviation at, 6.9 percent, 1 percent, and .1 percent respectively.