Landfill disposal of municipal solid waste represents one of the largest anthropogenic global methane emission sources, and recent policy approaches have targeted significant reductions of these emissions to combat climate change in the US. The efficacy of active gas collection systems in the US was examined by analysing performance data, including fire occurrence, from more than 850 landfills. A generalized linear model showed that the operating status of a landfill—open and actively receiving waste or closed—was the most significant predictor of collection system performance.