General waste and residue biomass availability in the near term (as of 2023) is estimated to be 9 million dry tons per year

Summary

General waste and residues constitute a smaller portion of biomass feedstock for second-generation biofuels, but offer near-term availability benefits. These materials include urban wood waste and yard trimmings, with total available biomass estimated at 9 million dry tons annually. The analysis is based on the 2023 Billion Ton Report and focuses on near-term availability (2023 projections) with specific pricing from 2022. Only non-animal solid waste is included, and paper and cardboard waste is excluded due to its high asking price. The distinction between total waste (33.4 million tons) and available waste (9 million tons) accounts for practical collection limitations including contamination, logistics challenges, and competing demand for these resources.

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General waste and residues make up small portion of the biomass feedstock available for second generation biofuels. The primary benefit of utilizing general waste and residues as a feedstock is that they are readily available in the near term.

Figures for biomass availability are sourced from the United States Department of Energy's 2023 Billion Ton Report, which is the fourth edition of the billion ton report that attempts to estimate the amount of biomass available in the United States by taking into account sustainability, economics, and technical feasibility ^{1 2}.

Assumptions

• The "near term" biomass estimates for general waste and residues are utilized in this analysis. In this regard, near-term is characterized by biomass that is estimated to be available in 2023.
• The pricing for waste resources is the average price in 2022
• Only non animal solid waste is included in the analysis. Textiles and leather are excluded.
• Paper and cardboard waste is excluded from the analysis. This is primarily because these waste products already are extensively used and traded as a commodity resulting in asking prices that is above feasible for a near-term market (greater than $100 per ton).
• Only "available" waste resources are included in the analysis. Resource availability refers to the portion of the total waste that can be realistically collected and utilized. Reasons for unavailability include contamination, logistics and competing demand. Figures for total and available waste resources are shown in table 1.

Estimations of general waste and residue biomass availability

The total near-term general waste and residue biomass availability is estimated to be 9 million dry tons per year.

Category	Feedstock	Total Quantity (million dry tons/year)	Available Quantity (million dry tons/year)	Price ($/ton)
Other solid waste	Urban wood (clean)	19.2	4.8	$14
	Yard Trimmings	14.2	4.2	$30
Total	—	33.4	9	—

Sources

Footnotes

1. Langholtz, M. H. (Lead). (2024). 2023 Billion-Ton report: An assessment of U.S. renewable carbon resources (ORNL/SPR-2024/3103). Oak Ridge National Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.23720/BT2023/2316165 ↩

2. U.S. Department of Energy. (2023). Billion-Ton 2023 data portal. Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework. https://bioenergykdf.ornl.gov/bt23-data-portal ↩