This research calculates the carbon emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) across 31 provinces in
China from 2003 to 2012. The calculation uses IPCC (2006) recommended methods and is divided into
four parts according to the four processing modes (sanitary landfill, simple landfill, burning, and composting) with the actual conditions of China. There are four ways to treat MSW: sanitary landfill, simple
landfill, burning, and composting. Composting produces the least carbon emissions, followed by burning
which produces the second lowest levels of emissions. The most emissions were from sanitary landfill,
which is unfortunately the most common ways for treating MSW in China. The growth rates of MSW and
its carbon emission exhibit both similarities and differences. Furthermore, this research analyses those
factors influencing the emissions by using two models. The effects of tertiary industries on gross domestic product (GDP) and urban per capita disposable income on household spending were used OLS.
The effects of MSW treatment method and household spending on carbon emissions from MSW were
established with generalized moment method (GMM). The results show that the rate of tertiary industry
in overall GDP and the urban per capita disposable income have an indirect positive effect on MSW
carbon emissions. Reduced carbon emissions from MSW, to a greater extent, may be brought from
burning and composting.