Will Toronto opt for incineration of its waste?

Torontonians produced more than 700,000 tonnes of waste last year. Nearly 54% of this garbage was recycled or composted. However, at the current rate, Toronto’s landfill will be full by 2034 or 2035, the City estimates. What to do next? Mayor Olivia Chow is not closing the door on cremation.

We are committed to listening [d’abord] residentsunderlines the mayor Chow.

The City has launched public consultations on updating its waste management policy for the next 10 years. Among other things, residents could complete an online survey in December.

A second phase of consultations will take place next spring, when the population will be invited to compare landfill to incinerationin particular, specifies a municipal spokesperson by email.

The dump [Green Lane] will be full soon, so we have to make a decision. […] But we are also looking for ways to consume less and reuse and recycle more.

It is important to evaluate all optionsadds Jennifer McKelvieDeputy Mayor of Toronto and Chair of the Municipal Infrastructure and Environment Committee.

She adds that there will always be waste to eliminate, even if the City succeeds in increasing its recycling and composting rate.

A dump called desire

The former mayor David Miller had avoided a waste crisis in 2006 by purchasing the dump Green Lane next to London in the southwest of the province, where Toronto has been sending its garbage ever since.

To extend the life of the landfill, Toronto set a goal of achieving a 70% waste diversion rate from the landfill by 2010, through recycling and composting. But the Queen City has never reached this target. The 70% rate has become Toronto’s goal for 2030.

For comparison, Montreal wants to achieve a waste diversion rate of 70% by 2025, and 85% in 2030.

Toronto plans to carry out a feasibility study on the possibility of expanding the dump Green Laneto see if this is an option viablespecifies the City. Toronto also wants to test the pulse of private landfills and other cities to see if they would be ready to accept its residual materials. The City is aware, however, that the current landfill space is limited and should be filled within 10 years.

The fourth option under consideration is incineration.

Is cremation the solution?

Environmentalist Karen Wirsig of the group Environmental Defence is concerned that Toronto is opening the door to waste incineration, calling this option a unhealthy solutiondue to the emissions associated with it.

What we should prioritize is reducing the waste we generate in Torontoshe said.

Waste incineration is not an ecological or sanitary way of dealing with waste.

Open in full screen mode

There are currently two incinerators in suburban Toronto. Operators ensure that they respect environmental standards, adding that incineration also allows electricity to be produced.

Charles Jia, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Toronto, says the technology has “evolved” and now makes it possible to “clean the flue gas.” He cites the example of incinerators in Tokyo, Japan.

Landfills are a technology of the past. […] Cremation is the solution.

Today’s incinerators are “much better” than 50 years ago in terms of emissions, also says Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng, professor of environmental systems engineering at the University of Regina, in Saskatchewan.

My concern [avec l’incinération]it is not environmental pollution. It’s more that it competes with our recycling programs.

He explains that an incinerator constantly needs products to burn and that recyclable materials like plastic bottles actually have a high energy value.

This is without mentioning the ashes produced by incineration, which must be managed, notes chemist and professor Marc Olivier of the University of Sherbrooke, in Quebec, who specializes in the environment and management of hazardous materials.

Open in full screen mode

There is no miracle solutionunderlines the deputy mayor McKelvie without jumping in favor of one solution or another for the moment.

The City wants to consult other municipalities to see if another landfill site would be available, she explains, while seeking to reduce the amount of waste to be managed, through composting, recycling and the elimination of plastics. for single use, in particular.

Ms. McKelvie adds that Toronto has not yet examined where an incinerator could be located or whether its management would be entrusted to a private operator.

How to recycle more in condominiums?

The recycling and composting rate in condominiums and apartment buildings (nine units or more) in Toronto was just 27.9% last year, according to the City.

This is 2.2 times less than among house occupants.

Quentin de Becker, teacher and founder of the environmental group Scarborough Zero Wastedo not point the finger at the tenants however.

I can hardly criticize someone who has to go down 30 floors to get their recycling.

He points out that many buildings do not have a fall. And often, if they have one, it’s only for trash.

In addition to this infrastructure problem, more public funding is needed, according to him, for organizations like his that promote recycling and composting through community activities.

Professor Olivier also believes that it is necessary to organize neighborhood challenges with objectives to achieve and reward good behaviorto try to increase the participation rate.

There are solutions that can adapt to one part of the customer base, other solutions for another part of the customer base, [plutôt qu’avoir] a single program where everyone goes through the same little keyhole.

He adds that there needs to be an approach recovery oriented when we build new buildings, because if there is only one garbage chute, many residents will opt for the easy solution and send everything to the trash, rather than sorting, he says.

The deputy mayor McKelvie cites the example of a condominium in his neighborhood which transformed its waste chute so that it was used solely for the collection of organic materials.

We will have discussions over the next year to establish a new 10-year plan for wasteshe said. But I prefer incentives [aux amendes] to increase the recycling rate.