Assessing the Policies and Processes of Waste Management in Four Canadian Cities

Due to the current high levels of consumption globally, management of waste is becoming a growing problem for many metropolitan areas. Canadian cities in particular continue to have large amounts of resource consumption and waste generation. This project presents an assessment of the policies and processes of waste management in Canadian cities from 2012 to 2016. The scope of this assessment includes analysis of waste diversion in four Canadian cities: Metro Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton. Metro Vancouver and Ottawa were chosen as comparable metropolitan areas while Ottawa and Edmonton were chosen as comparable smaller scale areas. The waste diversion rate is determined by the amount of waste diverted divided by the total waste which includes the amount of waste diverted in addition to the amount that is sent to a landfill (Mueller, 2013). Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management poses a challenge for policymakers, companies and citizens, due to the large volume of waste produced combined with the meticulous planning required to create effective waste treatment infrastructure. This in turn leads to confusion and a lack of transparency in MSW management processes due to the complexity of the system. In order to make the MSW management process more transparent and presentable, this comparative analysis approach will strive to consolidate multiple approaches to the data into a single story. For policymakers, this research will aid them in making environmental regulatory decisions. For waste management companies, this research will assist them in determining customer demand for waste services. Additionally, this research will be presented to SPEC, who will inform the general public with up to date information on municipal waste management, with the goal of motivating individuals to respect and improve the environment. Ultimately, the hope is for the evidence gathered from this research to be useful in planning, implementing and changing waste management systems in Canada. This project aims to inform the public in major Canadian cities about waste management and how their city's efficiency compares with other cities. It reviews and evaluates the effectiveness of municipal solid waste diversion processes by comparing the policies and processes of waste management in Metro Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton. Effectiveness is determined by if a waste management system is on track to achieve the city’s waste policy goals. Data was collected from scientific literature and municipal waste management reports. A comparative analysis was performed, focusing on the waste diversion rates and waste composition data. A comparison of the waste management policies implemented in each city was completed to determine how waste diversion rates are affected by particular policies. Figure E-1 shows an annual snapshot of per capita disposed waste for each city. Since each city has different populations, our study focused on metrics that are less dependent on this factor in order to make comparative analyses of waste management effectiveness between cities possible. [Figure E-1.]Science, Faculty ofEarth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat