The State of Canada's Cities and Communities 2012 - FCM

Chapter 6
Page 2
Approximately 34 million tonnes of solid waste
is generated annually in Canada, or 1,031 kg of
waste per person per year. Since the 1990s, the
country’s diversion rate has levelled off at approximately
25%—although some communities
have managed diversion rates as high as 70%.
Each year, local governments spend approximately
$2.6 billion to manage waste, including
$1.1 billion in collection and transportation costs,
$465 million for operation of disposal facilities,
and $368 million in tipping fees. This state of
affairs diverts dollars from municipal coffers, and
locks Canada into a linear waste-management
model—from producer to consumer to landfill.
It is a significant waste of potential secondary
resources, including energy. Biodegradable materials
make up the greatest proportion of this
model: approximately 22.1 million tonnes. These
decompose to generate methane gas, at close
to 13.2 million tonnes of CO 2 e per year.
The average person rarely makes the link between
solid waste, energy and climate change.
A growing number of communities do, however,
and are exploring ways of transforming waste
into resources through diversion of organic
materials and energy production. FCM’s research
suggests that a total of 66 Landfill Gas and
Capture (LFG&C) projects were operational
in Canada in 2007, 1 38 of which were flaring
projects, and 28 of which utilized LFG to either
1 Environment Canada’s National Inventory of Landfill Projects (Environment Canada, 2010).
generate electricity or heat. As indicated
in Table 1, total annual emission reductions
from these projects were estimated to be
6.9 megatonnes of GHG emissions in 2007.
TABLE 1: EMISSION REDUCTIONS BY PROJECT
TYPE IN 2007
Project Type Number of Current CO 2 e
Existing LFG&C Reductions
Projects (tonnes /yr)
Flare 38 2,317,000
Electricity 17 3,120,000
Direct Use 9 1,174,000
Combination 2 351,000
TOTAL 66 6,963,000
A 2010 review conducted by EnviroEconomics
found that a total of 136 landfills across Canada
had some potential to reduce emissions. These
landfills currently receive 90% of Canada’s municipal
solid waste. Table 2 identifies project type
for the 136 landfills included in the inventory, as
well as current GHG emission reductions and
an estimate of additional potential GHG emission
reductions. The research found that 40% of
existing and developing projects were geared
towards energy production.
TABLE 2: INVENTORY LANDFILL PROJECT TYPES AND POTENTIAL EMISSION REDUCTIONS
Project Type Number of LFG Current CO 2 e Additional
Landfills Production Reductions Potential CO 2 e
Reductions
(scfm) 1 (tonnes /yr) (tonnes /yr)
Existing LFG&C Project 66 106,000 6,963,000 3,032,000
Developing 11 14,100 - 914,000
Candidate 34 30,700 - 1,939,000
Lower Potential 25 4,900 - 352,000
TOTAL 136 155,000 6,963,000 6,237,000
1 SCFM IS THE ESTIMATED TOTAL FLOW RATE OF LFG THAT IS GENERATED AT THE LANDFILL SITE IN STANDARD CUBIC FEET PER MINUTE.
LFG FLOW RATES TYPICALLY PEAK AT LANDFILLS SEVERAL YEARS AFTER CLOSURE, THEN DECLINE OVER THE NEXT 15 TO 30 YEARS,
DEPENDING ON THE RATE OF DECAY FOR ORGANIC WASTES.