Organics

EREF report portrays organics diversion landscape in Canada

The Environmental Research and Education Foundation of Canada (EREF-CA), which is affiliated with Raleigh, North Carolina-based EREF, has created a 132-page report portraying the diversion of organic waste at the provincial, municipal and national level in Canada.

The report, titled “The State of Practice of Organic Waste Management and Collection in Canada,” follows EREF-CA research into the diversion of organic municipal waste materials, including food waste and green waste, via methods such as composting and anaerobic digestion (AD). Bryan F. Staley and Suzie Boxman are the report’s co-authors.

“Initiatives are largely focused at the provincial or municipal level through waste-related sustainability policies,” says the organization. “As policies and collection programs become more widespread, it has become important to have accurate information regarding the amount and types of organic waste generated, as well as the infrastructure available for managing it.”

The report’s executive summary concludes that Canada’s government-affiliated organics management infrastructure as of 2019 was comprised of 328 composting and 59 AD facilities.

Adds EREF, “Residential access to curbside and drop-off organics management programs also support existing infrastructure, with 91 percent of the population living in an area with some type of organics management program.”

In 2019, more than 4.8 million metric tons of discarded organic material was processed within Canada, while the nation has processing capacity of more than about 5.7 million metric tons (excluding Quebec).

Writes EREF, “While Canada has developed a mature organic processing sector over the last two decades, continued growth will require coupling new policies and programs with development of sufficient processing infrastructure.”

The full report is available by going to the organization’s website. Visit www.eref-canada.ca/projects for more information.