A Carbon Sink is a storage system for carbon, both naturally formed and man made. The aim of a Carbon sink is to soak up Carbon released into the atmosphere.
Naturally occuring Carbon Sinks include Oceans and plants/ vegitation. However, Oceans are slowly turning acidic as a result of excess Carbon Dioxide in the atomsphere. Man-made carbon sinks include landfills and other specialized reservoirs for carbon materials. Government bodies are now considering both kinds of carbon sinks as ways to limit carbon emissions.
The recent Kyoto Protocol, ratified by nearly all of the world’s nations (Excl the U.S.), regards carbon dioxide containment as a top priority. Those who are looking to implement practical reductions in carbon emissions are researching the use of carbon dioxide sinks as a possible solution. In looking at the role of oceans, it has become clear that the carbon containment potential of these natural carbon sinks is the largest existing global factor in controlling carbon elements.
Europe and other nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol have restricted the types of materials that can be placed in Landfill so that CO2 emissions are more controlled. In the United States, where the Kyoto Protocol does not govern municipal landfill, such considerations are not taken into account, although certain states are taking it upon themselves to change what can be disposed of at municipal sites. Across the world, those involved in looking at carbon emissions and climate change are trying to identify practical strategies for shrinking humanity’s total carbon footprint.
It is now a firmly held belief that inreased vegitation will aid in the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere. Forest carbon sinks consume carbon dioxide in huge quantities, and provide organic raw materials that are being consumed by the human population every day. To support natural carbon sink areas, experts continue to look at adding to the carbon control, or ‘sequestration’, capacity of the globe with man-made carbon sinks.
A big part of evaluating how landfills can be effective as carbon sinks is in studying how much of the carbon contained in consumer materials is released into the atmosphere between the time of manufacture and the eventual addition to a landfill space. Although items that release none of their carbon would be conceived as being carbon neutral in a carbon sink landfill, critics argue that this is hardly ever the case.
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