Quick Key Facts
- There are 2,600 landfills for municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S.
- The average person generates 4.9 pounds of MSW each day, and by 2050 global waste generation is expected to increase by 73% from 2020 levels.
- Modern sanitary landfills are not merely open repositories for waste, but have many complex components, including a composite liner, collection systems for methane and leachate, and environmental monitoring systems.
- In the absence of light, oxygen and the necessary bacteria, it can take decades for food to break down completely in a landfill, producing methane as it slowly decomposes.
- Landfills are the third largest source of methane — a greenhouse gas that’s 25% more potent than CO2 — emissions in the U.S.
- In 2018, 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris were generated, which is more than twice the amount of MSW.
- The documented adverse health outcomes correlated with living near landfills include higher risk of cancer and birth defects in infants.
- A 1983 study conducted by Congress’s Government Accountability Office found that in eight southeastern states, 75% of hazardous waste landfill sites were located in communities that were primarily Black, Latine and low-income.
What Is a Landfill?
Most of us barely have to think about our trash. We throw it in a bin, take the bag to the curb, then the garbage truck comes and takes it away. Pretty quickly, our waste becomes invisible to us, but it has to end up somewhere.
Waste comes from many different streams — households, industrial settings, workplaces, medical facilities, etc. — and our current system for trash and garbage disposal primarily entails burying it underground. In the U.S., waste generated by homes and businesses is most commonly sent to landfills: huge repositories in the earth to be filled with trash and covered over. The first modern sanitary landfill was created in California in 1937, but the practice became more widely adapted in the 1960s and 70s as waste production rose, and municipalities sought ways to limit unsanitary waste disposal. In 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was passed and created requirements for landfills to protect surrounding environments. Now, there are more than 2,600 landfills for municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S., a waste category that encompasses things like wood, paper, textiles, furniture, glass, plastic, some electronics and more.
Why Do We Have Landfills?
We generate huge amounts of waste and we’re only creating more. Single-use plastics and highly wasteful industries like fast fashion have become ubiquitous in practically every area of our lives. Trash generation has more than tripled since the 1960s, resulting in a current average of 4.9 pounds of MSW generated per person per day. With 11.2 billion tons of MSW produced every year, we need somewhere to put it, and landfills provide that solution.
Our increased waste is also tied to population growth and urbanization. The more the population grows, the greater our demand for manufactured products and materials, and the more we depend on landfills. According to the World Bank, global waste generation is expected to increase by 73% from 2020 levels by 2050.
The U.S. in particular generates a great deal of waste. Despite making up only 4% of the global population, the U.S. is responsible for 12% of the planet’s trash. It has historically exported its waste to other countries to handle, but in recent years, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have put bans in place on imported waste, further increasing the need for domestic repositories for trash, such as landfills.
While some waste can get recovered or recycled — and some of it is burned — the majority is sent to landfills. In 2018, 69 million tons of MWS was recycled and 25 million tons was composted, which amounts to about 32.1% of all MWS. About 3 million tons was combusted, leaving 146 million tons — half of the total — to be sent to landfills. In the absence of large-scale municipal recycling and composting programs, waste is thrown away when it could have been diverted to other streams. Our recycling system, however, isn’t perfect either — ultimately, only 9% of plastics gets recycled. With bans on our junk being imported to other countries to deal with — leaving about 19,000 shipping containers worth of plastic recycling with nowhere to go every month — much of this waste is being sent to domestic landfills instead.
Are There Different Types of Landfills?
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Different types of landfills exist for different types of waste, as categorized by the EPA. All are supposed to meet nationwide criteria established under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which sets forth requirements for landfills in the absence of state programs including location restrictions, requirements for liners and toxin collection/removal systems, and required operating practices.
Solid Waste Landfills
Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (MSWLFs) are primarily for the waste that’s generated in our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, as well as some nonhazardous materials from industry and construction. There are about 2,600 MSWLFs in the U.S., managed by the individual states they reside in. MSW is usually brought to transfer stations in municipalities, then transported on large, long-distance trucks to MSWLs.
Bioreactor landfills also fall under this category, and are used for degrading organic waste quickly. In these landfills, liquids are added to help bacteria break the waste down using either aerobic or anaerobic techniques.
The Yolo County Landfill Bioreactor in California was built to accelerate the decomposition of waste and produce renewable energy in 5 to 10 years. Yolo County
Industrial Waste Landfills are used for commercial and institutional waste. For example, Construction and Demolition Debris Landfills are repositories for heavy and bulky materials like wood, concrete, drywall, salvaged components of buildings like plumbing and windows, metal and glass generated during construction and demolition of roads, bridges and buildings. This accounts for a large amount of waste in the U.S. — in 2018, 600 million tons of C&D debris were generated, which is more than twice the amount of MSW. Demolition itself accounts for 90% of all C&D waste.
Coal Combustion Residual Landfills fall under the Industrial Waste category too, housing the nearly 130 million tons of coal ash generated every year from the burning of coal in power plants. After a large coal ash spill in Tennessee in 2008 flooded 300 acres of land and got into two rivers, the EPA established that these materials must be disposed of in such landfills.
Hazardous Waste Landfills
Hazardous Waste landfills are exactly what they sound like: repositories for only hazardous waste that is flammable, toxic or chemically reactive, including things like household cleaners, chemical waste, paint and aerosols. These types of landfills are the most regulated by the EPA, and are monitored even after their closure for toxic leachate.
Open Dump Landfills
When we talk about landfills, we’re typically referring to “sanitary landfills” — that is, municipal landfills that are regulated and controlled. However, open dump landfills are common in many areas of the Global South, and are used by about 70% of countries for disposing MSW. Without municipal waste disposal programs, these dumps are where trash often ends up.
Because these landfills typically aren’t regulated or controlled, they’re more likely to cause fires, attract pests and pollute the surrounding area. The toxic gases they produce are also not contained, so methane is released into the nearby environment. Water contamination is a primary problem around open dump landfills. Without groundwater monitoring systems in place, toxins make their way into groundwater and nearby drinking water, which has the potential to transmit infection and disease.
Basic Components and Operations of a Landfill
Open dumping is illegal in the U.S., and landfills must follow certain design and operation guidelines as established under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), although they’re created and managed state-by-state.
The major components of sanitary landfills include the following:
- Leachate collection system. Leachate is the liquid that percolates through the landfill, picking up toxins as it moves. Once it reaches the bottom of the landfill, it’s collected by perforated tubes and pumped out into a collection area, and then a holding pond where it’s treated to remove the harmful toxins.
- Plastic liner system (or “composite liner”). The liner — created from a layer of compacted clay and specific types of plastic — is meant to keep the landfill completely sealed so groundwater and soil aren’t contaminated by leachate.
- Cells are the areas where trash is dumped and compacted, allowing landfills to be filled in a segmented manner. Every day, waste is tipped into the active cell, which gets mechanically compacted. Layers of soil are laid down to cover the trash at intervals, and help to prevent odor. When the cell becomes full, another one is started.
- Stormwater drainage systems collect the rainwater that lands on the landfill, move it to drainage ditches, and then to collection ponds.
- Methane collection systems are needed to collect the methane — a potent greenhouse gas — that forms during the decomposition of organic waste. Landfills are among the largest sources of methane in the U.S., and collection systems prevent it from being released into the air. Wells, pipes and pumps collect the methane, where it’s then piped to a facility that processes it and removes impurities. From there, the refined methane can be distributed for such uses as vehicle fuel and electricity. About 500 MSW landfills collect methane for energy in this way.
The Pioneer Crossing Landfill in Berks County, Pennsylvania uses methane gas, a byproduct of the decomposition of waste, to produce electricity for the local utility company. J.P. Mascaro & Sons
- Environmental monitoring systems monitor the groundwater, storm water, and gas around landfills. Pipes go down into the groundwater to find whether they’ve become warmer or more acidic, which could mean that leachate is escaping and getting into the landfill’s surrounding environment.
- The Cap seals the top of the landfill. Usually, a layer of compacted soil or clay is put down, then layers of fabric and plastic before a 2-foot layer of soil (sometimes followed by more inches of topsoil) is put down so vegetation can grow on top of it.
How Does Waste Act Inside a Landfill?
Waste acts much differently inside a landfill than it would in your trash can, or when merely left out in the open. Different types of waste also act differently, posing unique problems depending on their makeup.
Organic Waste
What’s so bad about putting food in a landfill? It’ll just break down eventually, right? Not exactly.
Food is the largest category of landfilled material, according to the EPA, accounting for about 24%. The dark, anaerobic — that is, oxygen-free — environment of a landfill means that the insects and microorganisms needed to properly break down these materials aren’t present. Decomposition thus happens much, much slower, and releases a lot of methane as a byproduct. In a landfill, it can take decades for food to break down completely. By some estimates, a head of lettuce won’t completely decompose for 25 years. In other cases, food may not decompose at all.
Plastics
In landfills, most polymers and plastics remain “unchanged,” according to a 2022 study. Abundant evidence shows that plastic never really degrades, but rather breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually creating microplastics. The forces and environmental conditions of landfills — like gas, the pH of leachate, high salinity, temperature fluctuation, high pressure, etc. — can cause plastics to fragment into microplastics that can then be transported out of landfills in leachate and pollute nearby areas. Microplastic abundance in landfill refuse is between 20,000 and 91,000 items/kg — higher than the concentration in sewage sludge and agricultural soil. Therefore, when you throw a piece of plastic in a bag of landfill-bound trash, that doesn’t guarantee it’ll remain sealed off from the environment forever.
Energy Recovery in Landfills
Sometimes after a landfill is capped, the gases that form within it over time are vented out for energy recovery efforts. These gases can be used to generate electricity or as medium-Btu fuel, and have uses for vehicle fuel, pipeline gas, industrial and institutional buildings, and creating electricity for the grid. They’re recovered using a series of wells and vacuum systems that direct it to a collection area, after which it’s processed and can then be used. About 68% of all landfill gas (LFG) projects is for generating electricity, and 16% is used to offset another fuel, like fracked gas and coal. Another 16% is used to make renewable natural gas (RNG), a high-Btu gas that can be used instead of fossil natural gas.
Why Are Landfills a Problem?
On the surface, landfills seem like a logical solution to our waste — if we have nowhere else to put it, why not bury it? Landfills do, however, present serious and potentially life-threatening risks to nearby communities and the environment.
Location
Federal and state regulations mandate where landfills can be built, placing restrictions on building near wetlands or flood zones without certain performance standards in place. In some states, they can’t be put near bodies of water at all. But many landfills are poorly managed, leaving them susceptible to environmental conditions and leading to pollution. Landfills are also associated with poorer quality of life when placed near residential communities, discussed further in the next section.
Soil Pollution
Like water moving through coffee grounds, rainwater moving through landfills becomes saturated with the toxins inside the trash, eventually reaching the bottom as leachate. Some of this liquid does get collected by the leachate collection system, but if there are any holes in the lining, it can easily escape into the surrounding environment. Nearby soil is destroyed by the toxic chemicals, impacting the ability of plants to grow there and threatening the biodiversity of the area.
Air Pollution
Air quality also suffers around landfills. Particulates, dust and other air pollutants can escape from landfills. Vinyl chloride, ethyl benzene and toluene, are just some of the hazardous air pollutants emitted from MSW landfills. Respiratory problems — among other adverse health conditions — have been linked to landfill-related air pollution.
Water Pollution
When landfill leakages occur and leachate gets into groundwater, it becomes contaminated with toxins in industry and household waste, as well as electronics, which contain mercury, cadmium and lead. Ammonia is often in leachate, and produces nitrate. High concentrations of nitrate in ecosystems causes eutrophication, a process by which a high nutrient concentration in water leads to an explosion of plant life and algal growth, creating “dead zones” devoid of oxygen. Besides ammonia, leachate can also transport bacteria and heavy metals into groundwater, potentially contaminating drinking water.
Landfill Gas and Greenhouse Gases
Landfill gas (LFG), formed from the breakdown of organic waste inside the landfill, is mostly methane and CO2 (90-98%), but also contains nitrogen, oxygen, ammonia, hydrogen, and sulfides, among others. Its makeup depends on the specific conditions and age of the landfill, as well as temperature and water content, but some landfills can produce gas for up to 50 years.
Methane is a primary cause for concern in LFG, formed from the slow decomposition of organic matter in the airtight, anaerobic conditions of the landfill. Landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in the U.S., and for a greenhouse gas that’s 25% more potent than CO2, this has major implications for global climate change. Methane is also highly flammable. In March 2022, a massive fire started at a landfill site outside of Delhi, India, releasing toxins into the air. The fire, unfortunately, came right on the heels of an analysis stating that New Delhi was already the most polluted capital in the world.
Besides its climate-warming components, landfill gases can also get into structures near the landfill. They come up through the soil in a process called “soil vapor intrusion,” collecting in poorly-ventilated areas and polluting the indoor air of nearby buildings.
Human Health
These gases, pollutants and toxins impact the health of people who live near landfills. Open or poorly-managed landfills can lead to drinking water contamination, thereby transmitting diseases and causing infection. Documented adverse health outcomes include higher risk of cancer and birth defects in infants. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is just one carcinogen associated with leachate, entering the soil and groundwater near landfills. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are also harmful to humans and can cause coughing, difficulty breathing, and trigger asthma, headaches, nausea, and irritation in the eyes, nose and throat. For those who live near waste lagoons of landfills, adverse health outcomes are an especially serious problem.
Why Are Landfills an Environmental Justice Issue?
It has long been the case that landfills are constructed more often near communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. A 1983 study conducted by Congress’s Government Accountability Office found that in eight southeastern states, 75% of hazardous waste landfill sites were located in communities that were primarily Black, Latine and low-income. This puts marginalized communities at greater health risk. The proximity of landfills to housing also keeps property values low, which can make it hard for residents to sell their property and escape the health hazards.
What Can We Do?
Minimize Waste
In the simplest terms, to reduce our dependence on landfills, we need to reduce our waste. Diverting our waste through recycling and composting can keep waste out of landfills, as can just using less stuff altogether.
The recycling system in the U.S. is far from perfect. Due to a combination of many factors — including the un-recyclability of many materials, poor waste systems and lack of recycling systems in some areas — only about 9% of plastic actually gets recycled. However, when done properly, taking part in recycling programs keeps these materials out of landfills. Composting at home or through municipal programs is another important step, and is possible no matter where you live. An estimated 8-10% of yearly GHG emissions are associated with unconsumed food, and 30-40% of our national food supply is wasted every year. Composting keeps that organic waste from entering landfills in the first place, where it’ll decompose and produce methane.
Because construction and demolition are huge sources of landfill waste, it’s also crucial that we reduce their waste materials by preserving existing buildings rather than constructing new ones, or by reusing and repurposing existing materials.
Legislative Action
Many of these solutions might seem like they’re out of our hands. How are we as individual people supposed to create a better global recycling system? How are we supposed to redistribute construction materials so they aren’t wasted? We can stop using single-use plastics on our own, but how can we make that change on a larger scale? How can we as individuals create a more just and sustainable MSW system?
Voting isn’t a silver bullet for all of our problems, but it’s an important tool we have in bringing about change. Vote for local and federal legislators who have platforms based on environmental action and justice, including the implementation of sustainable integrated waste management on a larger scale. Better-managed and engineered facilities for waste that meet environmental requirements and aren’t placed in sensitive areas is an important step. New York City — where residential composting is now mandatory – is one success story, and shows how large-scale composting solutions can be implemented by people in power. There are models for other ways of handling our waste. In Sweden, for example, 0% of MSW ends up in landfills, due in part to good recycling infrastructure and biological treatment of waste.
Coming up with other uses for the land that landfills occupy has been another topic of conversation. Many landfills in the U.S. have been identified as promising locations for solar farms, and many have already been built, using that land to create clean, renewable energy.
Takeaway
Landfills aren’t merely dumping grounds for our trash, but rather are complex, regulated structures with many components. Soil, air, and water pollution is just one set of issues associated with landfills, along with greenhouse gas emissions, injustices on nearby communities, and steep costs to human health. Creating a more just and sustainable system of waste management that minimizes our reliance on landfills — and makes the landfills we do have better-engineered, better-managed, and better-monitored – will be an effort that incorporates both personal action and large-scale legislation, and changes in how we view and handle waste in our culture.
The post Landfills 101: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on EcoWatch.
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Just over half the country is officially in drought, and about 155.7 million Americans—almost seven million more than last week—are now affected. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s April 23 report shows that 52.46% of the United States and Puerto Rico, and 62.78% of the Lower 48, are experiencing moderate drought or worse. According to NOAA, this is the worst spring drought on record for the continental United States.
This drought is not limited to one region. The Southeast just had its driest September-through-March since records began in 1895. The Colorado River system is only 36% full. Texas is 77% in drought, and Corpus Christi’s reservoirs have dropped to nearly 9%. Nebraska experienced its largest wildfire ever, fueled by dry grasslands. Oregon’s snowpack reached zero on April 1. In California, Tahoe City Cross melted completely by March 8, 40 days earlier than usual, after a record-breaking March heat wave caused rapid melting of an already low snowpack across most of the West.
The common factor is that from January through March, precipitation was below 70% of average across the lower 48 states, setting a new record. As a result, water restrictions are now broader and, in many places, more severe than usual.
The National Picture
The headline numbers come from the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, and NOAA. As of April 21, drought conditions had worsened across the South, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, High Plains, and West, with a 2.9% increase in coverage over the past week and an 11.7% increase over the past month. The Northeast and parts of Texas and the eastern Plains saw modest improvement; everywhere else trended drier.
Two main climate factors have caused this record drought. First, La Niña led to less rainfall from January to March, with totals below 70% of average—the lowest since records began in 1895, just surpassing the previous low in 1910. Second, spring temperatures in the Central Plains, Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic were 5 to 10 degrees above normal, which sped up soil moisture loss and increased evaporation. This drought is not just about low rainfall; high temperatures are also drying out what little moisture remains.
The effects of the drought are already clear in the number of wildfires. By mid-April, over 1.7 million acres had burned across the country, nearly double the 10-year average. Nebraska’s Morrill Fire, which burned more than 640,000 acres in March, was the largest in the state’s history. In southeastern Georgia, the Highway 82 Fire destroyed at least 54 structures in Brantley County, which was the first county in the Southeast to reach exceptional drought (“D4”).
Southwest: The Colorado River Approaches a Threshold
The Colorado River Basin is facing water shortages not seen in modern times. The Bureau of Reclamation says the system is at about 36% of capacity. Lake Powell is only 23% full, and Lake Mead is about one-third full. Spring runoff into Lake Powell is expected to be just 22% of average. If this continues, 2026 could be one of the driest years in over sixty years, possibly even drier than 2002, which was the previous record.
In response, the Bureau of Reclamation announced in April that it plans to cut Lake Powell releases to 6 million acre-feet, the lowest in decades. They will also move water from Flaming Gorge to keep Lake Powell high enough for Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydropower. The dam provides electricity to about five million people, but water levels could drop too low by December if things do not improve. The seven states that share the Colorado River have not agreed on new rules for after 2026, when current guidelines expire. The Interior Department has said it may set new rules on its own if no agreement is reached this summer. Western states could be heading toward a conflict over water.
Local water restrictions are getting stricter. In March 2026, Erie, Colorado, moved to a Level 4 Emergency, the highest stage, which bans all residential sprinkler use. Aurora has completely banned new turf lawns. Denver Water started Stage 1 restrictions, asking residents to cut both indoor and outdoor water use by 20% until October 1. Along the Rio Grande, Elephant Butte is at 12.6% capacity, Falcon at 19.2%, and Amistad at 31.4%.
California: Permanent Rules Meet a Fourth Dry Year
California’s situation is more complex than just being in drought or not. In January 2026, the Drought Monitor showed no part of California in drought for the first time in 25 years. By April, Southern California was facing its fourth straight year of below-average rainfall. The statewide snowpack was only 18% of normal, and the State Water Project will limit water releases to 30% of normal.
What’s notable is that California’s restrictions no longer depend on whether a drought is officially declared. After the 2012-2017 drought, the state moved to a permanent year-round conservation framework codified by state law AB 1572 and the State Water Resources Control Board’s “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” rules.
Statewide baseline rules apply every year, regardless of conditions: no hosing down driveways or hardscape; no irrigation within 48 hours of rainfall; no irrigation runoff into streets or storm drains; mandatory shutoff nozzles on hoses; and recirculation requirements for fountains and decorative water features.
On top of these restrictions, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 19 million people, issued a Level 1 conservation notice in March 2026 to all 26 city and county agency members. State enforcement of the new water-budget rules is paused until 2027 to give utilities time to adjust.
California is in for a dry summer this year.
Southeast: A Recharge Season That Failed
The Southeast, usually a humid region, is now facing a record drought. Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina all had their driest September-through-March since 1895. Normally, the region relies on December through March to restore soil moisture, streamflows, and groundwater, but this year, that recharge mostly did not occur.
The result, as of April: 100% of North Carolina, 99.95% of Virginia, 99.34% of South Carolina, 98.99% of Florida, 98.13% of Georgia, 93.65% of Tennessee, and 88.66% of Alabama are in drought. In Georgia, extreme drought now covers 71% of the state, the highest reading since 2012. Some monitoring stations with 75 or more years of data are recording their driest six-month periods on record. Drought watches are active across Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama, with mandatory rules likely if late-spring rainfall doesn’t materialize.
Texas and the Southern Plains: Cities at the Edge
Texas is 77% in drought as of mid-April. The Coastal Bend story is the one to watch closely. Combined storage at Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi has fallen to 8.7% as of April 2026 — among the lowest levels ever recorded. Corpus Christi has been under Stage 3 mandatory restrictions since December 2024, the most severe stage in the city’s standard drought contingency plan, which is triggered when combined reservoir storage drops below 20% capacity. Stage 3 bans all outdoor irrigation, home vehicle washing, and most non-essential outdoor water use; second and subsequent violations carry fines up to $2,000 each.
The bigger concern is what happens next. City models now predict a Level 1 Water Emergency by September 2026, when the water supply could be just 180 days from running out. On April 28, 2026, the City Council postponed a vote on a proposal that would require everyone—residents, businesses, and industry—to cut water use by 25% if Level 1 is declared. Many residents at the meeting said this cut would be impossible unless industrial users reduce even more.
If Corpus Christi runs out of water—a scenario city officials now consider possible—it would be the first modern American city to face this. There is no guidebook for what to do. In the worst case, the city could see rolling water shutoffs by district, water delivered by tanker trucks, and even managed evacuations. The largest industrial users, such as petrochemical refineries, would likely lose access to water first, potentially leading to lawsuits.
In other parts of Texas, Dallas has had a permanent rule since 2001 that only allows watering lawns two days a week, and no irrigation is allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from April to October. In Oklahoma and Kansas, the Ranger Road Fire—the largest U.S. wildfire of 2026 so far—burned 283,283 acres in February, killed hundreds of livestock, and led to burn bans across central and eastern Oklahoma.
High Plains: Dust, Fire, and Lake Beds
Nebraska is experiencing conditions that one state climatologist said are unlike anything seen before. Fifty-six percent of the state is in extreme drought, similar to 2012 but with warmer temperatures. The Morrill Fire started in March and quickly spread through dry grasslands, burning over 640,000 acres—the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history. In Sheridan County, some landowners say their private lakes have dried up completely for the first time since 2012.
The Black Hills in South Dakota are now in extreme drought. In southern Nebraska, southwest Kansas, and southeast Colorado, low rainfall combined with high temperatures and evaporation have made spring planting difficult in many areas. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that streamflows are below or much below normal across southwestern South Dakota, southern Nebraska, and central and western Kansas.
Mandatory urban restrictions in this region are still relatively rare, but burn bans are widespread, and ranchers are culling cattle herds rather than feeding them on pastures with no grass.
Pacific Northwest: A Snow Drought, Not a Rain Drought
The Pacific Northwest had more precipitation this winter than the Southwest, but most of it fell as rain instead of snow because of record-warm temperatures. This has caused a snow drought rather than a rain drought. Since the region relies on snowpack for summer water, this is a serious problem.
Across the broader Columbia River Basin, snowpack ranks in the second percentile. On April 8, Washington’s Department of Ecology declared a statewide Drought Emergency, citing snowpack at just 53% of the median and projected summer water supply below 75% of normal in many basins, including the Yakima. Junior water-rights holders in the Yakima Basin are projected to receive only 44% of their allotment. Idaho is facing what could be its fourth consecutive drought year in its northern basins.
For the Northwest, the effects go beyond just this summer. New research from Oregon State University predicts that by the end of the century, water will move from precipitation to streamflow about 18% faster on average. This happens because there is less snow and more rain, so water moves through the system more quickly instead of slowly melting from snowpack. As a result, there could be about 50% less water in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs during the summer growing season.
The shift toward earlier runoff seen in 2026 is not a one-time event. It is a preview of the more severe impacts that climate change could bring.
Where Restrictions Are Active
This is a partial snapshot as of April 27, 2026. Local utilities update stages weekly. Verify before relying on these figures.
| Region | Location | Stage / Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest | Erie, CO | Level 4 Emergency | All residential sprinklers banned; most severe Front Range stage |
| Southwest | Aurora, CO | Stage 1 + turf ban | New turf lawn installations prohibited |
| Southwest | Denver, CO | Stage 1 (through Oct. 1) | Watering schedule by address |
| California | MWD Southern Calif. region | Level 1 conservation notice | Issued March 2026; covers 19M residents |
| California | San Francisco (SFPUC) | Level 2 | Tied to Hetch Hetchy levels |
| California | Sacramento | Stage 2 | Folsom Lake at 48% |
| Southeast | SW Florida (SWFWMD) | Phase III (Apr 3 – Jul 1) | Possible extension if summer rains fail |
| Southeast | Raleigh, NC | Mandatory Stage 1 (from Apr 20) | Odd/even address watering schedule |
| Southeast | Valdosta, GA | Mandatory 1-day/week (from Apr 15) | First Georgia city to move to mandatory rules |
| Texas | Corpus Christi | Stage 3 — Reservoir Crisis | Reservoirs at 8.7%; 25% cut planned for September |
| Texas | Dallas | Permanent 2-day/week | Ordinance since 2001; no irrigation 10am–6pm Apr–Oct |
| Pacific NW | Washington (statewide) | Drought Emergency (Apr 8) | Snowpack at 53% of median; Yakima Basin junior rights cut to 44% |
| Pacific NW | Oregon (snow drought) | No statewide order yet | Snow water equivalent at zero percentile on April 1 |
What You Can Do
Households use about 10% of all water in the U.S. Agriculture is still the biggest user, but in cities with restrictions, saving water at home can help prevent stricter rules, fines, or limits on businesses. The EPA’s WaterSense program says the average American family uses about 300 gallons a day, and simple upgrades can cut indoor use by 35%.
Indoor (immediate, no cost):
- Check your home for leaks. On average, American homes waste over 11,000 gallons a year from running toilets and dripping faucets. A single toilet leak can waste 200 gallons a day. To test for leaks, put food coloring in the tank—if it shows up in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or shaving. This can save 8 to 10 gallons per person each day.
- Only run your dishwasher and washing machine when they are full. You can also skip pre-rinsing dishes.
- Take shorter showers. Reducing your shower by two minutes with a standard showerhead can save about 5 gallons of water.
Indoor (small investment):
- Install WaterSense-labeled fixtures. Faucet aerators and showerheads use at least 20% less water and are inexpensive. The average family can save about 3,500 gallons of water and 410 kWh of energy each year just by using these.
- Replace any toilet made before 1992. Older toilets use 4 gallons per flush, while WaterSense models use 1.28 gallons or less.
Outdoor (where most savings can happen):
- Outdoor irrigation uses nearly 9 billion gallons of water a day nationwide. It makes up about 30% of household water use, and up to 70% in dry areas. Water your yard before sunrise or after sunset to reduce evaporation.
- Consider replacing your lawn with drought-tolerant plants that are suited to your region. This type of landscaping uses less than half the water of a traditional lawn. Many cities, such as Aurora, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, offer rebates for replacing turf.
- Install a smart irrigation controller with a rain shutoff or soil moisture sensor. These devices adjust watering based on real conditions instead of following a set schedule.
- Add 2 to 3 inches of wood chips as mulch to your flower beds and vegetable gardens. This helps reduce evaporation and keeps weeds down.
Community and policy:
- Find out your utility’s current drought stage and the rules that apply. Most utilities post this information online and let you report water waste, like irrigation during banned hours or broken sprinklers spraying onto pavement.
- If you’re in an HOA, know your rights. California’s AB 1572 and Texas Property Code §202.007 prohibit HOAs from fining residents for brown lawns during active water restrictions. Other states are following this example.
- Pay attention to how agriculture and industry use water in your area. While homes use only about 10% of water, decisions about the other 90%—used by farms and businesses—will shape whether household conservation efforts make a lasting difference.
The Big Climate Picture
Some may see the 2026 drought as just a mix of La Niña, a warm winter, and early snowmelt, with rain expected to return as conditions change and an El Niño watch begins for late summer. While this is partly true, the bigger pattern—record warmth, snow falling as rain, earlier and faster runoff, and reservoirs unable to keep up as demand rises during hotter, longer summers—is what climate science has predicted for nearly twenty years.
Lake Powell is at 23%. Oregon’s snowpack is gone. North Carolina is completely in drought. Corpus Christi is preparing for the chance of running out of water. These are not separate stories. They are all part of the same story, showing what aridification looks like when it becomes a daily reality instead of just a forecast.
Editor’s note: Drought conditions are evolving weekly. Statistics in this piece are current as of the U.S. Drought Monitor release dated April 21–23, 2026. Local water restrictions change frequently — verify with your utility before relying on the figures cited here.
The post The 2026 Drought, Region by Region appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/earth-watch/the-2026-drought-region-by-region/
Want to save time, money, and energy all while adding convenience to your life? Something as simple as using smart plugs throughout your home can help achieve these goals.
The average U.S. household has roughly 65 devices plugged in around the clock, quietly drawing about 770 kilowatt-hours of phantom power every year, about enough to run a refrigerator for nine months. At today’s average residential electricity rate of 17.47 cents per kilowatt-hour, that’s roughly $135 a year wasted on devices nobody uses.
Smart plugs are the simplest, cheapest way to stop electricity waste. The arrival of Matter, the cross-platform smart home standard backed by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung, and the maturing of the low-power Thread wireless protocol mean a smart plug bought today should outlast the app it shipped with and work across whatever smart home ecosystem you switch to next. This updated article covers what changed, what to look for now, and which models are worth installing in 2026.
This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item through one of these links, we receive a small commission that helps fund our work.
How Smart Plugs Work
A smart plug sits between a wall outlet and whatever you plug into it — a lamp, a coffee maker, a space heater, an entertainment center. Inside is a relay that opens or closes the circuit on command, plus a wireless radio that listens for those commands from your phone or a smart speaker. Some plugs add an energy meter that reports real-time wattage and cumulative kilowatt-hours back to the app.
Older smart plugs relied entirely on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and the manufacturer’s cloud services, which meant a server outage or a Wi-Fi hiccup could leave you unable to turn off your lamp. Matter-certified plugs communicate locally over your home network and continue working even when the internet drops. Thread-based plugs go further, forming a self-healing mesh network in which each plugged-in device acts as a relay for the next, extending range and cutting response time, so there’s less waiting for your smart home app to make your smart home work.
In late 2022, the Connectivity Standards Alliance released Matter 1.0, an open, royalty-free standard meant to end the era of locked smart home ecosystems. Matter-certified plugs pair with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings simultaneously, and it is configured by scanning a single QR code. No brand-specific app required, no separate hub for each platform.
Matter has matured quickly. Version 1.4 added home energy management as a first-class device category and introduced certified routers and access points that double as Thread border routers. Version 1.5, published in November 2025, expanded support to cameras, soil moisture sensors, and additional energy management features. As of 2026, Thread border router certification requires Thread 1.4, which lets security credentials to be passed between platforms, so a plug added through Apple Home can also be controlled from a SmartThings hub.
A Matter plug bought in 2026 should still work in 2030, even if you switch from an Amazon Echo to a HomePod or add a SmartThings station. By contrast, a proprietary Wi-Fi plug from a brand that goes out of business or sunsets its app is a paperweight. That’s a real consideration in a category where startups have come and gone — Wink, Insteon, and others left users stranded when their cloud services shut down.
How Much Energy They Actually Save
Smart plugs save energy only when you use them deliberately. The plug itself draws roughly 1 to 2 watts of standby power, so each one adds about $1.50 a year to your bill before it does any work. That cost is recovered many times over if the plug is used to schedule, monitor, or kill standby loads.
Three smart plug features do most of the work:
1. Cutting Standby Loads
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Natural Resources Defense Council estimate that standby power — the electricity devices draw when they’re switched off but still plugged in — accounts for 5% to 10% of residential electricity use, and as much as 23% in homes packed with always-on electronics. The NRDC estimates the national wasted energy spending at about $19 billion a year, or roughly $165 to $440 per household. Older devices, gaming consoles, set-top boxes, and audio equipment are the worst offenders.
A smart plug with energy monitoring lets you spot which devices are draining power in standby and either schedule them off overnight or kill the circuit entirely. One reviewer found an old gaming console drawing 50 watts in standby mode, which costs is about $45 a year at average rates.
2. Scheduling and Off-Peak Shifting
Scheduling a coffee maker, towel warmer, or seasonal lights to run only when needed is the simplest savings case. The bigger one is shifting flexible loads — EV chargers, dehumidifiers, pool pumps — to off-peak hours when many utilities offer lower rates and the grid is running on cleaner sources. Earth911’s reporting on vampire loads walks through which household devices are worth targeting first.
3. Smart Plugs can Catch Failures Early
This is the underrated benefit. A refrigerator that suddenly draws 40% more power, a sump pump that’s cycling too often, or a freezer running 24/7 because the door seal failed will all show up in an energy-monitoring plug’s history before they show up on your utility bill. For appliances that fail gradually, the plug is a cheap diagnostic tool.
2026 Performance Standards: What to Look For
The smart plug market has consolidated around a handful of meaningful specifications. A plug bought in 2026 should meet most of these:
- UL or ETL safety certification. This is non-negotiable. Uncertified plugs from unknown brands have been linked to overheating and fires; in 2023 the CPSC announced a recall of Emporia smart plugs over electric shock hazards, and counterfeit electrical products remain a documented risk. Look for the printed UL or ETL mark on the device itself, not just the listing page.
- 15-amp / 1,800-watt rating. Standard for U.S. plugs and sufficient for nearly any single-outlet appliance. Be cautious about controlling space heaters with smart plugs, even at this rating; high-draw devices running for hours can stress the relay.
- Matter certification. Look for the Matter logo (three arrows forming a triangle) on the plug packaging.
- Real energy monitoring. Look for plugs that report actual wattage and cumulative kilowatt-hours, not estimated usage based on assumed device profiles. This is the feature that turns a smart plug into a savings tool rather than a convenience gadget.
- Local scheduling stored on the plug itself continues running when the internet drops. Cloud-only schedules don’t.
- Compact form factor. Older plugs were bulky enough to block the second outlet on a duplex receptacle. Slim designs from Kasa, TP-Link Tapo, and Eve now fit two per outlet.
- Thread support is optional but useful. Thread plugs use less power than Wi-Fi, respond faster, and strengthen your mesh as you add more. They require a Thread border router, which is built into most current Apple, Google, and Amazon hubs.
Recommended Models for 2026
These picks are organized by use case rather than ranked overall. Prices and availability checked April 2026; verify before purchase.
Best Cross-Platform Pick: Kasa KP125M
The Kasa KP125M was one of the first Matter-certified plugs with proper energy monitoring and remains the best balance of features in 2026. It works with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings via Matter to track real-time and historical wattage in the Kasa app. It stores schedules locally and is compact enough to stack two in a duplex outlet. UL-certified, 15A/1800W. Around $20 per plug in 2-packs and 4-packs. The Chinese manufacturer, TP-Link, has had its U.S. market presence scrutinized for security concerns — worth considering if that’s a priority for your household.
Best for Apple Home and Thread Mesh: Eve Energy
Eve Energy (Matter) runs over Matter and Thread, joining a Thread mesh automatically to act as a router for nearby devices. Eve’s privacy posture is unusual: no cloud, no account registration, no telemetry, so you can use it without fear of digital surveillance of your home. The energy monitoring is granular enough to capture small changes in appliance behavior, and the app provides detailed cost projections. UL-certified, 15A/1800W. Premium-priced at closer to $40 per plug, but the Thread support and privacy stance justify it for households committed to a local-first smart home.
Outdoor Use: Wyze Plug Outdoor
For holiday lights, pool pumps, garden features, and string lights, the Wyze Plug Outdoor offers two independently controlled, weather-sealed outlets with energy monitoring, a built-in light sensor, and IP64 water resistance. It works with Alexa and Google Assistant, operating from -4°F to 120°F. Typically priced between $25 and $30. Note that Wyze has had several security incidents over the past few years, which is worth weighing for indoor cameras, but matters less for an outdoor plug controlling lights.
Simplest Alexa-Only Setup: Amazon Smart Plug
If your household is already deep in the Alexa ecosystem and you want zero-configuration setup, the Amazon Smart Plug pairs automatically with Echo devices and works through the Alexa app, with no separate setup required. While it provides n o energy monitoring, this Alexa-only costs around $20. The simplest option, but the least flexible if you ever switch ecosystems.
The Bigger Picture
Smart plugs are a small intervention. Cutting standby load might save a household $50 to $200 a year — meaningful, but a fraction of the savings available from more efficient HVAC, water heating, and appliance choices, which together account for the majority of residential electricity use. The case for smart plugs is less about that one number and more about the visibility they provide. Most households have no idea which devices are responsible for their bills until they get the data.
The category also has a larger-grid story. Smart plugs that can shift flexible loads to off-peak hours give utilities and grid operators tools to balance demand without building more peaker plants, particularly relevant as electrification of heating and transportation drives residential demand growth. Check out our conversation with ecobee’s Sarah Colvin, which to go deeper into how distributed smart devices are starting to function as grid resources, not just consumer conveniences.
What You Can Do
- Audit before you buy. Walk through your home with a notepad and list devices that run on standby, such as entertainment systems, gaming consoles, printers, set-top boxes, microwaves with clocks, or anything with an LED that stays lit. Those are your first smart plug candidates.
- Start with one Matter plug with energy monitoring. Use it as a diagnostic tool for a week on each of your top suspects before installing a full set. The data will tell you which loads are worth automating.
- Build schedules around the loads you actually use. A coffee maker that runs from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., an entertainment system that powers down at midnight, and holiday lights on a sunset-to-11 p.m. window. Aim for the plug to spend most of its time off.
- Check for utility rebates. Many U.S. utilities offer rebates on energy-monitoring devices and smart home products that participate in demand-response programs. Your provider’s website or ENERGY STAR’s rebate finder is the place to start.
- Don’t put high-draw appliances on smart plugs. Space heaters, window AC units, and other devices that draw near the 15A rating for hours at a time stress the relay and pose a real fire risk. Use a hardwired smart switch or a smart breaker for those instead.
- Verify safety certification on the physical product. The UL or ETL mark should be printed on the plug itself. If it’s not, return it.
Editor’s Note: Originally written by Sandi Schwartz on March 29, 2023, this article was substantially updated in April 2026.
The post How To Save Energy in Your Home With Smart Plugs appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/eco-tech/how-to-save-energy-in-your-home-with-smart-plugs/
Today’s quote is from Yvon Chouinard, rock climber, environmentalist, and founder of outdoor gear retailer Patagonia. He said, “Going back to a simpler life based on living by sufficiency rather than excess is not a step backward.” Is it time to simplify your life?
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
This poster was originally published on June 26, 2020.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Living by Sufficiency Rather Than Excess appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-living-by-sufficiency-rather-than-excess/
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