"TILTIL, Chile - One of the world's largest sources of climate-warming methane gas is a landfill protruding from hills on the outskirts of Chile's capital of Santiago, a recent study by the UN environment agency shows.
The Lomas Los Colorados landfill tops a list of 50 human-made sites with the world's highest levels of methane emissions, according to data from satellite images published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in April.
"It is a megasource of methane that may have effects not only on Chile, but at a global level," said Juan Jose Garces, head of the civil engineering and environment department at the university of Santiago.
The pyramid-shaped landfill, about 60 km (37 miles) north of the city, receives waste from homes across an area populated by more than 7 million.
However, since 2007, it has helped fuel a nearby power station via a program to turn captured methane into biogas, management company KDM Empresas told Reuters."
Rodrigo Gutierrez and Jorge Ollero report for Reuters May 4, 2026.
