Waste in Alberta

Image source: Government of Canada, 2017

Overview of waste in Alberta

Residential vs. Non-Residential waste in Alberta, 2020

In 2020, 1,238,331 tonnes of waste (30.6%) was generated by residential sources in Alberta, while 2,806,486 tonnes of waste (69.4%) was generated by non-residential sources. In total, 4,044,817 tonnes of municipal solid waste was generated in Alberta 2020 (Statistics Canada, 2024).

Waste production in Alberta, 2012-2022

For Alberta, both the waste from residential and non-residential sources have remained relatively stable. The non-residential waste increased slightly between 2012 and 2016 and then decreased back to the values of 2014 until 2020, reflecting an overall increase of 2.5% from 2,737,698 in 2012 and 2,806,486 in 2020. Then, there was a slight decrease by 3.9% to 2,696,837 tonnes in 2022.

There was also a slight increase between 1,176,226 tonnes 2012 and 1,336,765 tonnes 2018, reflecting an increase of 13.6%. Then this value decreased by 7.4% to 1,238,331 tonnes in 2020, to then increase again by 2.6% to 1,270,939 in 2022 (Statistics Canada, 2024).

Waste per capita in Alberta, 2012-2022

For Alberta, the residential waste per capita was 0.39 tonnes in 2022, with a population of 1,165,963 people. While the waste per capita generally increased by 11.1 % from 0.27 in 2012 to 0.30 in 2018, it then declined by 6.7 % to 0.28 in 2020, and then increased by 39.3 % to 0.39 in 2022.

Alberta generates a really high non-residential waste per capita, as compared to the whole country. The waste per capita generally increased by 6.6 % from 0.62 in 2012 to 0.66 in 2016. Then, it slightly decreased by 4.5 % to 0.63 in 2018, and ended up decreasing by 3.2 % to 0.61 before 2022 despite a slight increase between 2018 and 2020 (Statistics Canada, 2024).

Composition of residential waste in Alberta, 2022

For residential waste in Alberta, 252,961 tonnes (37.2%) were all organic waste, 179,107 tonnes (26.3%)  were food waste, 53,162 tonnes (7.8%) were paper fibers, 47,013 tonnes (6.9%)  were glass waste, 27,431 tonnes (4.0%) were plastic waste, 41,039 tonnes (6.0%) were leaf and  yard waste, 32,815 tonnes (4.8%) were other organic waste, and 46,766 tonnes (6.9%) were other forms of waste (Statistics Canada, 2024).

Composition of non-residential waste in Alberta, 2022

For non-residential waste in Alberta, 220,871 tonnes were paper fibers (41.3%), 74,335 tonnes were organic waste (13.9%), 65,992 tonnes were construction waste (12.3%), 50,918 tonnes were ferrous metals (9.5%), 39,035 tonnes were food waste (7.3%), 18,094 tonnes were yard waste (3.4%), 17,206 tonnes were other organic waste (3.2%), and 48,821 tonnes were other forms of waste (9.1%) (Statistics Canada, 2024). 

Solid waste assets in Alberta, 2022

In Alberta, there are 903 solid waste assets. Specifically, there are 444 transfer stations assets, making it the most common solid waste asset in the province (49.2%). There are also 157 inactive closed sites (17.4%), 104 materials recovery facilities (11.5%), 89 active engineered landfills (9.9%), 52 active dump sites (5.8%), 32 composting facilities (3.5%), and 25 other solid waste assets (2.8%) (Statistics Canada, 2022).

References

Government of Canada. (2024). Solid waste diversion and disposal. Retrieved June 16, 2024, from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/solid-waste-diversion-disposal.html

Statistics Canada. (2024). Table 38-10-0138-01  Waste materials diverted, by type and by source DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/3810013801-eng

Statistics Canada. (2024). Table 17-10-0009-01  Population estimates, quarterly. DOI:https://doi.org/10.25318/1710000901-eng

Statistics Canada. (2024). Table 38-10-0032-01  Disposal of waste, by source DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/3810003201-eng

Statistics Canada. (2022). Table 34-10-0236-01  Inventory of publicly owned solid waste assets, Infrastructure Canada DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/3410023601-eng

Government of Canada. (2017). Provincial and territorial symbols. Retrieved August 15, 2024, from https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/provincial-territorial-symbols-canada.html

Notes

”Misc.” data refers to miscellaneous data, and indicates any form of waste adding up to less than 3.0% individually, added together in one category for better overview.