Organic waste

About 30% of all waste landfilled in the province is from a category called organics.  That’s enough to fill more than 17,000 garbage trucks a year. This waste is primarily composed of food waste, soiled paper products (like paper towel and cardboard packaging), yard and pet waste.

Organic waste comes from both the residential and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sectors. Organics in landfill produces greenhouse gases (GHG’s).

Residential sector - about one-third of home waste is organic.

• Food waste – 20%
• Soiled paper – 7%
• Pet waste – 5%
• Leaf and yard waste – 3%

Industrial, commercial and institutional sector – about one quarter of waste is organic.

• Food waste – 16%
• Soiled paper – 7%
• Pet waste – 1%
• Leaf and yard waste – 1%

Organic waste buried in landfill will:

• generate greenhouse gases - While regional landfills are equipped to partially manage these gases, they remain among the top emitters of greenhouse gases in the province
• reduce the lifespan of landfills - Organic waste takes up a lot of space in landfills and expanding them is costly
• result in a loss of resources - When organics are buried, they are lost forever rather than being used to make products such as compost
• attract animals - This negatively impacts their health due to the unnatural diet and habitat. 

Ways to reduce organic waste include:

• reducing your food waste; eat or donate leftovers to local foodbanks
• buying reusable alternatives to paper towel and reusing leftover food in future meals
• participating in a curbside composting program or try composting at home
• setting up a composting program for organics at your school