Environment

Any waste collected by or on the order of municipalities falls under the definition of municipal waste. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), municipal waste is “waste from households, including bulky waste, similar waste from commerce and trade, office buildings, institutions and small businesses, yard and garden waste, street sweepings, the contents of litter containers, and market cleansing waste.”¹ 

Canada generates more municipal waste per capita annually than any of its peer countries. Canada earns a “D” grade and ranks in last place. In 2005, Canada generated 791 kg per capita of municipal waste—well above the 17-country average of 610 kg per capita and almost twice as much as Japan, the top-performing country.

Of the 791 kg per capita of municipal waste generated in Canada in 2004, 53 per cent was from household waste. Increases in municipal waste generation are related to rates of urbanization, types and patterns of consumption, household revenue, and lifestyles. Canada’s per capita income and average household disposable income have been steadily increasing since the 1980s, leading to increasing household consumption rates.

In other OECD counties where urbanization and disposable household income are also high, however, municipal waste generated per capita is substantially lower than in Canada. Japan, for example, generated 400 kg per capita of municipal waste in 2005, almost half the waste generated in Canada.

No. In 1980, Canada generated 510 kg per capita, receiving a “C” grade. Australia, Norway, and the U.S. all had higher per capita municipal waste than Canada. By 1995, Canada’s municipal waste per capita had swelled to 691 kg per capita, and its performance relative to its peers had slipped to a “D.” Between 1995 and 2005, Canada’s municipal waste per capita increased by a further 100 kg. Within 15 years—from 1990 to 2005—Canada increased its municipal waste per capita by 24 per cent and became the worst performer on this indicator.

No. Across the OECD, the quantity of municipal waste generated per capita has been rising since 1980. In 1995, for example, the average amount of municipal waste generated by the 17 countries ranked by the Conference Board was 540 kg per capita. By 2005, the average had increased to 610 kg per capita.

Some of Canada’s peer countries have, however, managed to keep the amount of municipal waste generated per capita steady, despite economic growth. Between 1990 and 2005, Japan sustained its municipal waste generation at 405 kg per capita, while Australia kept its at 690 kg. Few countries, however, have managed to reduce the quantity of their disposable solid waste.

Use the drop-down menu to compare the change in Canada’s municipal waste generation with that of its peer countries.

Municipal waste contributes to environmental problems including habitat destruction, surface and groundwater pollution, and other forms of air, soil, and water contamination. Incineration creates toxic substances, while landfills emit methane (which contributes to global warming) and other gases.²

In 2002, over 12 million tonnes of waste were generated by Canadian households.³ Of this, 9.5 million tonnes were disposed of in landfills or incinerators; the remaining 2.5 million tonnes were diverted through recycling, reuse, or composting. Paper fibres and organic materials make up the largest proportion of household material that is recycled and composted in Canada.⁴

Within each province, individual municipalities are responsible for waste management programs. Many Canadian municipalities have developed and initiated successful recycling programs that reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfills. Recycling, which has increased in Canada, generally has less impact on the environment than manufacturing new materials into usable products. For example, studies have shown that producing paper from recycled materials uses less energy and creates fewer air and water emissions and less solid waste.⁵ But recycling operations still require energy and water, and can cause a number of environmental impacts. They therefore need to be managed effectively.⁶

Landfilling is still the most common way to dispose of waste in Canada. Most municipal waste goes to landfill, with only a small percentage incinerated.⁷ Environmental concerns about landfills include the leachate and landfill gases that contaminate groundwater and surface water and contribute to climate change. Also, 30 per cent of landfills in Canada are expected to be full by 2010.⁸

Municipalities are consequently faced with finding a viable and sustainable location for waste disposal. Although there is ample space to create landfill sites in Canada, many residents are opposed to having landfills close to their communities. In the 1990s, when Toronto’s Keele Valley landfill reached near capacity and closure appeared imminent, the municipality proposed shipping its waste 590 kilometres north, by rail, to Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The 9,000 residents of Kirkland Lake were up in arms at the thought of having Toronto’s municipal waste dumped into an abandoned mine in their community. In the end, the community won, and the decision to use the mine was overturned by Toronto City Council. Since 2003, Toronto’s municipal waste has been exported to the U.S., to a landfill in Michigan. There are additional environmental impacts associated with transporting the waste.

Municipal waste management is expensive. Municipal governments in Canada spent more than $1.5 billion on waste collection, transport, and disposal in 2002.⁹

Canada needs to further integrate waste management systems while making reduced environmental impact a top priority. To achieve more sustainable municipal waste management practices, the challenge will be to reduce the amount of solid waste generated, while increasing the amount of waste diverted from landfills through recycling and other initiatives in an economically feasible way. Canadians must also realize that economic growth cannot come at the expense of the environment.

For information on how some cities are adopting the concept of industrial ecology to reduce waste, see:

"Environmentally Sound Growth" in chapter 4 of Mission Possible: Successful Canadian Cities.

¹OECD, OECD Environmental Data Compendium 2004 (Paris: Author, 2005).

² David R. Boyd, Canada vs. the OECD: An Environment Comparison, 2001, [online, cited August 19, 2008].

³ Statistics Canada, Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2005, Solid Waste in Canada (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2005), p. 9.

⁴ Statistics Canada, Waste Management Industry Survey: Business and Government Sectors 2004 (Ottawa: Author, 2007), p. 5.

⁵ P.T. Williams. “Emissions from Solid Waste Management Activities,” in Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Management Activities, R.E. Hester and R.M. Harrison , eds. (Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002).

⁶ Statistics Canada, Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2005, Solid Waste in Canada (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2005), p. 7.

⁷ David R. Boyd, Canada vs. the OECD: An Environment Comparison, 2001, [online, cited August 19, 2008].

⁸ Statistics Canada, Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2005, Solid Waste in Canada (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2005), p. 7.

⁹ Statistics Canada, Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2005, Solid Waste in Canada (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2005), p. 16.

See discussions on other indicators
Urban NO2 concentration	Forest cover change
Urban SO2 concentration	Organic farming
VOC emissions	Use of forest resources
Urban PM10	Marine Trophic Index
Municipal waste generation	GHG emissions
Water Quality Index	Low-emitting electricity production
Water consumption	Energy intensity
Threatened species