Waste

Little progress in reducing waste emissions highlights the importance of a more ‘circular economy,’ including waste prevention and landfill diversion.
Total 2023 carbon emissions: 1.8 MtCO2eq
% of GTHA carbon emissions: 3%
Emissions by Sector:
AllBuildingsTransportationIndustryWasteAgriculture
Total Emissions, 2015-2023

Waste emissions increased by 3% in 2023, reaching 1.8 MtCO2eq. There has been little change since 2015 when TAF began conducting regional inventories, with waste emissions consistently accounting for around 3% of GTHA emissions.

Methane is the predominant component of waste emissions and is released when organic matter is broken down in landfills. As a greenhouse gas, methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide, particularly during its first 20 years in the atmosphere. While this inventory uses the conventional 100-year carbon equivalency for methane, a 20-year carbon timeframe would roughly triple the emissions, better representing the actual amount of greenhouse gases released in the short term.

To reduce emissions, organic waste can be diverted from landfills to composting or anaerobic digestion facilities. For the organic waste that does reach landfill, emissions can be mitigated using landfill gas management systems that enable methane to be captured and subsequently flared or used to create low-carbon energy.

Ultimately, the most effective way to reduce waste emissions is to reduce the amount of waste generated altogether. To accomplish this, we need to transition away from single-use products and build-out a robust circular economy in which waste outputs from one sector are used as resources in another.