Welcome to my FIRST EVER post on ‘The Greener Year!’ Today, we will delve into the topic of how much waste Canadians produce annually. Sounds exciting, EH?! Well, it is a subject that we should all be interested in and knowledgeable about. You won’t BELIEVE Canada’s shocking amount of waste! Keep reading to find out more.
How much solid waste do Canadians produce annually?
Now that I have you sitting on the edge of your seat, are you ready for the staggering numbers that I am about to tell you? Hold onto your hat because, according to the Government of Canada website, in 2022 Canadians produced 36.5 million tonnes of solid waste! What does that even look like? Well, I don’t know about you, but I need a visual to grasp that immense number. By doing a little math equation, I figured out it would be equivalent to the weight of approximately 202, 778 blue whales. It’s mind-blowing to even picture!
No, this isn’t referring to raw sewage! That’s what I always thought it meant. In this case, solid waste refers to any non-hazardous or hazardous materials that people dispose of. This includes recyclables, organic materials such as food waste, and regular garbage.
The statistic above includes both non-residential and residential solid waste. Industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors generate non-residential solid waste, along with construction, renovation, and demolition activities. In 2022, non-residential sources produced 59.8% of Canada’s total 36.5 million tonnes of waste.
WAIT A MINUTE…that means residential solid waste made up 40.2% of the total 36.5 million tonnes. Let’s break that down: households generated 10,698,180 tonnes of waste—about the same weight as 59,434 blue whales! Yikes! Residential waste comes directly from Canadian households. Now you can fully grasp the shocking scale of Canada’s waste problem.
Where does solid waste go?
So where does all this waste end up? Does it all go to landfills or get incinerated? In Canada, most collected waste ends up in landfills, while a smaller portion gets incinerated. However, there is some good news! People divert some solid waste for reuse, repair, refurbishment, composting, remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling. In 2022, Canada diverted 9.9 million tonnes of solid waste—about the weight of 55,000 blue whales—from disposal or incineration. Yay!
Paper and organic materials, such as food and yard waste, made up 67% of all diverted waste. Unfortunately, Canada still sent 26.6 million tonnes of garbage—the weight of 147,778 blue whales—to landfills or incinerators. As a result, Canada diverted only 27.1% of its waste, while 72.9% remained undisposed of sustainably. BOO! Still, there’s hope: since 2002, Canada has increased waste diversion by 20%, showing that we are heading in the right direction.
Why does this matter?
The amount of solid waste going to landfills or being incinerated creates increased greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Additionally, it disturbs our beautiful land and can pollute local water sources. We can all agree that this is problematic!
How do Canadians rank on a global scale for the amount of solid waste that we produce?
In the article, World Waste: Statistics by Country and Brief Facts, it states that the United States has the highest daily per capita rate for Municipal Solid Waste, which is 2.58 kg/person. Canada came in SECOND!!! The daily per capita rate for Municipal Solid Waste is 2.33 kg/person. Isn’t that unbelievable? So, people from other countries might also be contemplating Canada’s shocking amount of waste since we are ranked NUMBER TWO in the World per capita. In this case, coming in SILVER is nothing to brag about!
What nation comes after Canada? Australia came in third place with 2.23 kg/person. The country who has the least daily per capita rate for Municipal Solid Waste is Colombia with 243 kg per capita for the entire year! Of course, countries with a huge population like China, produce more solid waste overall, but NOT per capita. It is estimated that the entire World produces 2.01 billion tons of Municipal Solid Waste on an annual basis. If the World doesn’t slow down it’s waste production, it is predicted to rise to 3.8 billion tons by 2050! WHERE WILL WE PUT ALL THAT STUFF?
Pretty heavy topic, isn’t it? I assumed that Canada would rank poorly on a global scale, but I didn’t realize we would be number two on the list! Why is it we rank so poorly? Unfortunately, it comes down to overconsumption and overproduction.
What can we do to improve this smelly issue?
So, let’s think about how WE can help to change this, even on a microlevel. What can you and I do to create a better World and natural environment? First off, let’s consider how much solid waste we are personally throwing out each day, week, month, or year, and adjust our habits. Below, you will see a few more suggestions.
- Consume less/ buy less stuff
- Purchase products that are more environmentally friendly and that use fewer chemicals
- Reuse or repurpose containers when possible
- Try to get an item fixed before throwing it into the garbage
Finally, we can continue to educate ourselves on environmental issues and talk about it with others. Knowledge is power and we can’t change what we don’t know. Let’s advocate to our governments for more stringent environmental policies and seek more advice from indigenous communities. These are just a few ideas. What are your suggestions to tackling this overwhelming problem?
If you have read the ‘About Me’ section on ‘The Greener Year’, you will know that I am committed to shifting my own habits to living a greener and healthier lifestyle for me, my family, and for the environment. I want to share my journey with you, in hopes that others will also embrace change. We can do this together and create a brighter and healthier future! LET’S START TODAY!
If you found this blog post interesting, please check out my post about Canada’s Complicated Recycling System. Click here to see it! How can Canadian households recycle properly? | The Greener Year
Sources Cited
Filipenco, Daniil. World waste: statistics by country and brief facts. Development Aid, 21, 05, 2024, World waste: statistics by country and brief facts DevelopmentAid
Solid waste diversion and disposal. Government of Canada, 28, 11, 2024, Solid waste diversion and disposal – Canada.ca
Statistics Canada. Table 38-10-0032-01 Disposal of waste, by source
