Sustainable Best Practices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Canada’s Landfills: Results

from the National Survey

Rathan Bonam and Dr. Shirley ThompsonSwana Presentation, Edmontion, May 2008

Natural Resources Institute University of Manitoba

Outline

BackgroundMunicipal Solid Waste (MSW) definitionMethod: SurveySurvey Results

Year 2005Waste CompositionLandfill EmissionsDiversionProvincial DataWaste TrendsManagement Practices

Background: Landfills

There are over 10,000 landfills in Canada including dumpsApproximately 200 major

landfillsLandfills contribute ~20-90

Tg/yr (10-19%) of total anthropogenic methane emissions

95% of the waste disposed ends up in landfills because Canada does not rely much on incineration for volume reduction (Statistics Canada, 2005).

Municipal Solid Waste

MSW is the unwanted material produced through human activity that is managed at disposal, recycling and composting facilities

Includes wastes from the residential, commercial, and institutional sectors as well as construction and demolition wastes

Method: Survey

A ten page quantitative survey questionnaire that included all solid waste disposal data queries for landfills was prepared.

A database with all the major landfills contact information was developed by contacting each province’s Ministry of Environment.

In 1998, there were approximately 800 active landfills in Canada receiving just less than 21 Mt of solid waste (Environment Canada, 2001).

Method: Survey

A survey was mailed, e-mailed, faxed and/or couriered in conjunction with Environment Canada, to determine:waste composition, waste management practicesdiversion programs landfill gas generation and use

The survey was followed up at regular intervals after the initial call/email to those who could not respond.

Surveyed 300 landfills from September 2006 to April 2007. 130 landfills responded (43% response rate).

15% of the 130 landfills are privately owned.

Results: Provincial Participation

7 provinces participated in the landfill survey

Province Closed Active Total

British Columbia 9 6 15Alberta 0 30 30Quebec 3 15 18Ontario 20 34 54New Brunswick 0 5 5PEI 0 1 1Nova Scotia 1 6 7

33 97 130

Results for year 2005

Waste generated (disposed + diverted) is 13.7 million tonnes

12 million tonnes of Waste disposed at 97 active landfills

All the 97 active landfills across the seven provinces have a landfill capacity of 541 million tonnes and the current waste in all these landfills is 224 million tonnes.

Waste generation per-capita is 2.32 kg/person/day (Bonam and Thompson, 2007), compared to 2.66 kg/person/day (Statistics Canada, 2005)

Results for year 2005

55% of our waste that goes to landfills is residential, 30% is IC&I, 9% C&D and 6% is other waste.

Average density of waste 700-900 range of 125 to 1300 kg/cubic meter

Average depth of landfill is 15 meters, deepest 50 meters

The overall quantity of waste disposal has increased by 8% between 2003 and 2005.

30% of landfills closing down by 2010.

Results: Waste compositionWaste composition data was provided by four out of the seven

provinces (17 landfills out of 97). 41-100% of waste is organic (average 65% across Canada)

Province Paper & textiles (%)

Garden and non-food waste

(%)

Food waste (%)

Wood

(%)

Recyclables

(%)

Other (%)

AB 24 15 14 10 7 30

BC 24 18 16.5 7 8.5 26

ON 17 6 31 1.5 15.5 29

QC 20 13 22 9 8 28

Landfill Gas related to Diversion

Methane has a GWP of 23 times that of carbon dioxideLandfill gas consists of approximately 50% methane

and 50% carbon dioxideTrace components include sulfur compounds and volatile

organic compoundsMethanogens degrade organic matter, producing

methanePaper wasteGarden wasteFood wasteWood waste

Landfill Gas related to DiversionGHG emissions from 97 active and 33 closed landfills

In 2005 methane emissions are 757 ktIn 2004 methane emissions are 735 ktIn 2003 methane emissions are 715 kt

52 recovery projects in Canada (30 active and 22 closed)

Of the 757 kt of methane 318 kt (i.e. 42%) was captured in 2005

50% of landfills that capture use it for energy, remainder flare

67.6 MW of electricity is produced 2,118,920 million BTU of heat is generated

Characteristics of LFG projects by Province

Province No. of LFG projects

Active area (ha)

Refuse buried (tonnes)

Average Depth (m)

Average density (Kg/m3)

LFG flared (tonnes/yr)

LFG utilized (tonnes/yr)

NS 2 170 1,520,699 20 730 5,391 0

QC 13 905 105,315,590 16 900 88,086 56,493

ON 21 1200 64,234,313 21 725 47,175 83,715

AB 2 1523 22,674,427 6 500 224 4171

BC 14 437 25,898,000 15 900 13,520 14,652

NB 0 501 3,287,849 17.5 750 0 0

PEI 0 8.1 148,400 22 700 0 0

Findings on Diversion

British Columbia (29%) and Nova Scotia (22%) have highest diversion rates

Otter Lake landfill, Halifax, Nova Scotia - $115.00/tonne disposal fee diverted 30% of its total waste (2005)

City of Orillia landfill, Orillia, Ontario - $ 110.00/tonne disposal fee diverted 35% of its total waste (2005)

Higher disposal fees has prompted higher % of waste diversion

Diversion in 2005

88% of the total waste generated went to landfills

12% is diverted (1.7 million tonnes)

6.1% is composted (839,335 tonnes), saving 7.3 kt of methane emissions

5.9 % is recycled (804,975 tonnes), saving 100 kt of methane emissions

Diversion is less then 1% at most private landfills

Waste Diverted versus Methane Emissions

1 12831 1495 19141 25750 35 41010 53990 64448 7100 85010

Total.Waste.Diverted.in.2005

0

20

40

60

GH

G.e

mis

sions.

save

d.in

.2005

(based on savings from producing virgin materials versus recycled and composting)

Waste diversion versus Disposal fees

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Disposal.Fee

-10

10

30

50

70

90

Per

cent

age

of.W

aste

.div

erte

d

Provincial Data

Province Average Diameter

of Catchment area (km)

Total Waste

disposed in 2005 (tonnes)

Total GHG

emissions in 2005

(kt)

Current Waste

(tonnes)

Waste Capacity (tonnes)

Average Density (kg/m3)

Average Disposal Fees ($)

% Waste diverted

AB 80 1,443,681 31 22,674,427 102,054,139 500 25 13

BC 95 1,287,247 72 25,898,000 53,800,000 900 65 29

NB 150 281,447 7 3,287,849 22,775,000 750 61 -

NS 93 275,324 7 1,520,699 10,045,760 730 64 22

ON 88 3,911,351 117 64,234,313 155,156,327 725 63 16

PEI 125 33,376 0.88 148,400 371,000 700 100 54

QC 100 4,821,571 370 105,315,590 196,313,230 900 50 6

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Landfills

Variables

2005 emissions current waste density disposal fees diverted waste waste capacity

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for Alberta

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for British Columbia

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

25 26 27 28 29

Landfills

Variables

2005 GHG emissions Current waste Density

Disposal fees Capacity Diverted waste

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for New Brunswick

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

30 31 32 33

Landfills

Variables

2005 GHG emissions Current waste Density

Disposal Fees diverted waste Waste capacity

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for Nova Scotia

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

34 35 36 37 38 39

Landfills

Variables

2005 GHG emissions Current waste Density Disposal fees Diverted waste Waste capacity

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for Ontario

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

Landfills

Variables

2005 GHG emissions Current waste Density Disposal fees Diverted waste Waste capacity

Identifying Trends: Waste variables (log) for Quebec

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

Landfills

Variables

2005 GHG emissions Current waste Density Disposal fees Diverted waste Waste capacity

Results: GHG Emissions

“Density” and “disposal fees” have no significant effect on the GHG emissions because of the historical waste (current waste in place).

For every hectare increase in landfill area, a 0.81 tonnes increase in GHG emissions can be predicted 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Log..Area.

0

1

2

3

4

5

Log.

.200

5.Em

issi

ons.

Results: Disposal fee versus Density of Waste

2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2

log..Density.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Dis

posa

l.Fee

Landfill space = $, recognizing it has value

Background: Diversion Issues

Composting Most use it as a temporary, daily and final cover New Brunswick has plans to promote backyard composting

Recycling Transportation is a main issue (high transportation costs with

low volumes) Landfills serving rural communities have limited business

opportunities

Funding is one of the main constraints that is limiting waste diversion activities.

Not enough methane is generated in order to make it feasible to set up and operate LFG capture systems

Current Waste Management PracticesLandfill practices based on the survey

150 mm (~ 6”) of sandy soil/crushed C&D product with gravel is used as daily cover on the working face of the landfill

Daily Cover is easier to apply if waste is properly compacted

Daily cover is used to minimize dust, blown litter and odors

Most landfills use 300 mm (12”) to 500 mm of intermediate cover

Final cover composed of 1000 mm (1 meter) clay, 100 mm of topsoil and suitable vegetation for irrigation is in practice

Landfill practices based on the survey75 % of the active landfills only collect leachate and most

of them have a perimeter collection systemLess then 20% of the landfills re-circulate the leachate

collected90% of the landfills compact their waste daily with a CAT

826 compactor, which weighs 82,000 lbs.90% of the landfills have no waste diversion activities in

mind for implementation within the nest five years

Current Waste Management Practices

References

Bonam, Rathan and Thompson, Shirley. (2007). Results of Environment Canada Survey. Environment Canada: Ottawa.

Environment Canada, 2001. Information on Active landfills.

< http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/english/issues/05/any_questions_e.cfm> (17 July 2006).

Statistics Canada, 2005. “Human Activity and the Environment”. Catalogue No. 16-201-XIE. < http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=16201XIE> (15 June 2006)

Thompson et al., 2006. “Recommendations for Improving the Canadian Methane Generation Model for Landfills”, Environment Canada.

Thank you!

Questions?

Our regards to all the landfill managers who made this survey possible