Commercial and Industrial Waste to Landfill
Reviewed by Afonso Firmo, Co-Founder & Director · Updated 7 July 2026
Commercial and industrial waste to landfill: 1.3 t CO₂-e per tonne under NGA Factors 2025. Worked examples, FAQs and a calculator for your waste reporting.
Emission Factor Value
1.3 t CO₂-e/tonne
Try it with your own numbers
Estimated emissions
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Emissions from waste you send to landfill are reported under Scope 3. Calculated as tonnes of C&I waste × 1.3 t CO₂-e per tonne (NGA Factors 2025). Cubic metres are converted at 0.33 tonnes per m³.
Official Source & Citation
This emission factor is sourced from the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2025 , Table 16, published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Citation: DCCEEW (2025). Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2025. Commonwealth of Australia. Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2025
Notes
Scope 3 factor for organisations sending mixed commercial and industrial waste to landfill, from the NGA Factors 2025 waste mix tables. 1 tonne of C&I waste sent to landfill = 1.3 t CO₂-e. For volume records, apply 0.33 tonnes per cubic metre. The landfill operator reports the direct methane emissions under Scope 1.
Calculation Example
If your manufacturing site sent 120 tonnes of mixed C&I waste to landfill during the year:
| Working | Result |
|---|---|
| 120 t × 1.3 t CO₂-e/t | 156 t CO₂-e (Scope 3) |
Factories, warehouses and business parks generate their own flavour of general waste — less food scraps than a household bin, more packaging, offcuts and process residues. The NGA Factors give this mixed commercial and industrial stream its own default rate of 1.3 t CO₂-e per tonne to landfill, reported on your Scope 3 inventory.
If your waste contractor classifies your service as C&I, this is the factor to reach for when you have tonnages but no composition data.
Quick Verdict
Mixed commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill has an emission factor of 1.3 t CO₂-e per tonne under the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2025, applying to the 2025–26 reporting year. The generator reports these emissions under Scope 3; the landfill operator reports the direct methane under Scope 1. The factor sits below municipal solid waste (1.6) because C&I streams carry fewer degradable organics per tonne. Volume records convert at 0.33 tonnes per cubic metre. A Scope 3 emissions calculator can apply the factor straight from contractor invoices.
How to Calculate Commercial and Industrial Waste Emissions
Emissions (t CO₂-e) = Waste to landfill (tonnes) × 1.3
Worked Example 1: Manufacturing site
A manufacturer sends 120 tonnes of mixed C&I waste to landfill over the year.
120 t × 1.3 = 156 t CO₂-e (Scope 3)
Worked Example 2: Business park tenancy
A small distribution business disposes of 30 tonnes of general waste to landfill.
30 t × 1.3 = 39 t CO₂-e (Scope 3)
Worked Example 3: Skip volumes only
A site records 90 m³ of C&I waste across the year’s skip collections. Using the NGA volume-to-mass factor of 0.33 t/m³:
90 m³ × 0.33 t/m³ = 29.7 t
29.7 t × 1.3 = 38.61 t CO₂-e (Scope 3)
C&I Waste vs Other Landfill Streams
| Waste stream (to landfill) | Factor (t CO₂-e/t) |
|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 3.3 |
| Food waste | 2.1 |
| Municipal solid waste (mixed) | 1.6 |
| Commercial and industrial waste | 1.3 |
| Wood waste | 0.7 |
| Sludge | 0.4 |
| Construction and demolition waste | 0.2 |
All factors from NGA Factors 2025, expressed in CO₂-equivalent.
NGER and AASB S2 Reporting
C&I waste emissions are Scope 3 for the generator, so they sit outside NGER thresholds but inside AASB S2 disclosures, which require material Scope 3 categories to be reported. Keep contractor tonnage records as your audit trail and apply the NGA Factors 2025 value consistently across periods.
Related Emission Factors
Frequently Asked Questions
Disclaimer
This page is provided for general information, not professional or compliance advice. The factor shown is reproduced from the official publication cited above, and while we work to keep it current, government factors change — the publication is always the authoritative source.
- Before using this value in any formal reporting — including under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 — confirm it against the current official publication and the methods specified by the Clean Energy Regulator.
- NetNada is independent of the Australian Government, DCCEEW, and the Clean Energy Regulator. Government data is Crown copyright, Commonwealth of Australia.