Municipalities across Canada are looking for economical and environmental methods to improve their waste management diversion methods. Some are scrambling to assess and extend landfill disposal capacity and others are trying to dramatically increase their diversion rates. Many are initiating a combination of strategies. Canada's largest city has arguably received the most attention with regard to its new waste management policies and Ontario is in a supposed waste disposal crisis.

In 2000, the City of Toronto issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a long-term waste disposal contract. The debate three years ago was whether to transport residential waste residues for disposal to the Adams Mine Landfill by rail or by truck to landfills in Michigan and/or Ontario.

As readers of this magazine know, Toronto decided to ship its residential waste residues to Michigan for disposal. As of the beginning of 2003, with the closure of Keele Valley Landfill, this represents approximately one million tonnes per year. Transfer vehicles haul the waste -- approximately 125 transfer trucks per day -- from seven transfer stations along Highway 401.

The debate about waste disposal, particularly in central Ontario, is far from over. The dialogue is focussed on: increased truck traffic leading to accidents and green house gas (GHG) emissions; Michigan (a bottle bill state) restricting specific waste materials; border closures to certain waste types (low level radioactive, blood, etc.); and, the Adams Mine Landfill, the so-called "Ontario Solution."

Most of the coverage focuses on pieces of the issue without a sound understanding of the current and future waste management system requirements that will ultimately lead to solutions. Let's consider a more comprehensive framework for the debate.

Ontario by numbers

The current population of Ontario is 12.2 million. Recent estimates of waste generation are just over 1.1 tonne per capita per year for residential, industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) waste. As a result, Ontario generates approximately 13.8 million tonnes of waste per year. The IC&I waste portion is estimated to be twice that of residential waste.

Various processes and activities currently divert an estimated 4.4 million tonnes, leaving the remaining 9.4 million tonnes for disposal. This represents average diversion rates of 35 per cent and 28 per cent for residential and IC&I waste respectively. Table 1 outlines waste disposal quantities (demand) by region in the province. It's clear from this table that the GTA produces the largest single portion of Ontario's waste (almost 45 per cent).

Disposal supply vs. demand

How does the disposal supply compare to the demand? Landfills are regulated based on Certificates of Approval (C of As). Modern C of As establish the total approved disposal capacity of a landfill and define the types of waste and area of waste receipt. Most municipally owned landfills service all solid non-hazardous residential waste generated in the municipality and potentially adjacent municipalities plus some IC&I waste. Private landfills are also regulated in a similar fashion but normally have larger "regional" waste receipt areas, which may be larger for IC&I waste than residential waste. Most private landfills, and some municipal landfills, will also have a limitation on annual waste receipts. These service area and annual waste restrictions limit the usable disposal capacity in Ontario.

Waste management consulting firm Gartner Lee estimates that a total of approximately 6.4 million tonnes of solid, non-hazardous waste was disposed of in Ontario in 2002. The total approved usable disposal capacity currently in Ontario is estimated at 102.1 million tonnes. Table 2 describes the supply of annual disposal capacity and total approved capacity by region. This disposal capacity is provided by hundreds of landfills and one inciner