As Toronto’s landfill approaches capacity, there’s “strong support” from residents to consider incinerating the city’s trash, according to a new report that’s already drawing the ire of climate advocates.听
A city report released Friday provided the results of public consultations held earlier this year on long-term plans for Toronto’s trash. The city-owned Green Lane Landfill southwest of London, Ont. is the current destination for almost all of Toronto’s garbage, but is expected to reach capacity by 2035.听
The city has been exploring options that include either building a new landfill or using an existing one, as well as switching to so-called “energy-from-waste” technology, better known as incineration.听
The report, which will be debated at next Friday’s infrastructure and environment committee, makes no recommendation on which option is best. But according to the document, 79 per cent of participants in the consultation survey supported exploring incineration, and cited generating energy from burning waste and reducing the amount of refuse sent to landfill as main factors.
The online survey was conducted over May and June and received responses from more than 11,000 people.听
The report acknowledged the public also has environmental and public health concerns around incineration, and staff wrote that the city hopes to address those issues “through a comprehensive, evidence-based, and transparent process that reflects the city鈥檚 environmental and social commitments.”聽
But soon after the report was published, the 海角社区官网Environmental Alliance (TEA) called on the city to scrap the survey results, alleging the municipality had “misled the public” by providing “false information” in its consultation material that minimized incineration’s harm to the climate.听
鈥淚f you ask the public whether they want to turn their garbage into magical fairy dust with little to no climate or environmental impact, I鈥檓 not surprised that they would say yes,鈥 Emily Alfred, senior waste campaigner for the TEA, said in a statement.
She urged the city not to get “suckered into believing biased, outdated, and frankly false claims that burning our garbage is somehow good for the climate.鈥
The material in the survey that TEA objected to asserted that incineration “reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfilling.” The claim was based in part on the fact that organic material in landfills decomposes to produce methane gas, and trucking garbage long distances to dumps produces emissions.听
But while incinerators can generate electricity and heat that can replace traditional fuels, they also emit pollutants. A report that used data from Ontario incineration facilities found burning Toronto’s garbage would produce between five to six times more greenhouse gas emissions than sending it to a modern landfill.听
Asked about TEA鈥檚 criticism, Atif Durrani, a project director in the city鈥檚 solid waste management division, said 海角社区官网is committed to 鈥渆vidence-based decision making,鈥 and the consultation was designed by third-party experts who specialize in waste management. He said that as the city further explores incineration, it will conduct a full evaluation of its potential impacts聽on public health, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality.
Last year, 海角社区官网managed more than 850,000 tonnes of waste, and while it diverted about 350,000 tonnes through organic, recycling and other programs, it sent about 418,000 tonnes to Green Lane, according to the report.听
In a bid to replace the landfill’s dwindling capacity, the city issued a request for expressions of interest to all 378 municipalities within 500 km asking whether they would consider accepting Toronto’s waste, selling it an existing landfill, hosting a new landfill, or partnering with 海角社区官网to build or expand one.听
鈥淣o municipality expressed interest in partnering with the city in any of the scenarios,鈥 according to the report.
The city also conducted a technical study that found it would be feasible to extend the life of Green Lane for 25 years, to 2060. The city is projected to produce 12 million tonnes of waste over that time, and the study found that it would be possible to create the required 13.3 million cubic metres of additional space by building on top of the current landfill, and expanding it to nearby properties.听
The elected chief of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, which is next door to Green Lane, has told the Star his community would oppose expanding the landfill. The First Nation is asking to be consulted on the landfill’s operations, including a project to collect natural gas that the Oneida say could be a source of revenue for the community. The Oneida political office didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
The city didn’t provide a cost estimate for any of the options listed in the report.听City staff say they plan to keep studying the different disposal methods, and report back in 2027.听
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation