Waste management in Canada - A $5.6 Billion industry
Waste Management Canada
The waste management industry in Canada handled just over 34 million tonnes of waste in 2008. This amount translates into about 1,031 kilograms of waste per Canadian according to recent figures released by Statistics Canada. Of this total, the quantity of waste sent to public and private waste disposal facilities was 25.9 million tonnes, practically unchanged since 2006.
The remaining 8.5 million tonnes was sent for recycling or composting, up 9.7% from 2006. About one-third of waste for disposal came from residential sources, while the other two-thirds came from non-residential sources. The amount of residential waste disposal fell by 4.0% from 2006 to 8.5 million tonnes in 2008.
Meanwhile, the amount of non-residential waste rose by 1.8% to 17.3 million tonnes. Quantity of waste sent for disposal fell in most provinces Between 2006 and 2008, the quantity of waste sent for disposal increased in three provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Saskatchewan recorded the biggest increase in the amount of waste disposed, with an 8.3% change.
On the other hand, New Brunswick had the biggest decrease (-6.3%). On a per capita basis, Alberta sent the most waste for disposal in 2008, the equivalent of just over 1.1 tonnes per person. Conversely, Nova Scotia sent 378 kilograms per person for disposal.
The high per capita disposal rates in Alberta were largely the result of non-residential waste disposal. In terms of residential waste, per capita disposal in Alberta was close to the national average. Waste diversion: Largest increase in electronics Nationally, the quantity of materials diverted from disposal for recycling or composting increased by about 10% from 2006 to 2008.
Electronic waste recycling recorded the biggest increase (+115%). This was followed by plastic materials, which rose by 40%. Local governments spending more on waste management Local governments spent about $2.6 billion on waste management in 2008, up from $2.1 billion two years earlier.
Provincially, municipalities that spent more money per capita on waste management reported diverting greater amounts of waste per person. Business sector operating revenues rose 13% to $5.8 billion between 2006 and 2008. Operating expenditures incurred by waste management firms increased 19% to $5.1 billion.
Just over 31,000 people were employed full-time in the waste management industry in both the government and business sectors in 2008. More information is available on CANSIM: tables 153-0041 to 153-0045 . The publication Waste Management Industry Survey: Business and Government Sectors , 2008 ( 16F0023X , free), is now available from the Key resource module of the Statistics Canada website under Publications , choose All subjects , then Environment .
A data table is also available from the Key resource module of the Statistics Canada website under Summary tables . Table 1 Disposal of waste by source, province and territory, 2008 Residential proportion of waste Non-residential proportion of waste Residential sources per capita Non-residential sources per capita % kilograms Canada 33 67 256 520 Newfoundland and Labrador 53 47 429 382 Prince Edward Island x x x x Nova Scotia 42 58 158 220 New Brunswick 49 51 313 329 Quebec 33 67 265 530 Ontario 34 66 250 495 Manitoba 41 59 332 469 Saskatchewan 32 68 286 605 Alberta 24 76 267 855 British Columbia 34 66 219 422 Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut x x x x
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Municipal Solid Waste Management
Klean Industries designs and supplies gasification and waste-to-energy plants that convert municipal solid waste into electricity and syngas, and provides feasibility studies to de-risk solid-waste projects. Looking to process municipal waste profitably?
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