Municipalities in rural areas collect garbage from houses and dump it in a low-lying marshy ground. After several years when this ground is completely
filled up, garbage dumping is stopped. Then this ground is used for public purposes. With the passage of time, garbage starts decomposing and starts releasing methane. Methane is an important greenhouse gas which is non-toxic, but highly flammable. It is an asphyxiant and can be fatal. Dhapa in Kolkata is a ground where garbage was dumped till 1991. Methane emission measurements from this garbage field were made from May 1995 onwards for a couple of years. The results are presented in this communication. It was found that the methane values from the garbage dump
are 3–4 times higher than those from the surrounding paddy field.