Waste Facts

A COMPANION DOCUMENT FOR TOO GOOD TO WASTE: MAKING CONSERVATION A PRIORITY

Introduction

Waste Generation Sectors

Waste Management Facilities> Land Application

Municipal Waste Generation

Non-hazardous Solid Waste Diversion/Recycling> Role of Delegated Administrative Organizations

in Municipal Waste Reduction

Hazardous Waste Generation

Oil & Gas Waste Generation

Forestry Waste Generation

Agricultural Waste Generation

Alberta Waste Management Milestones

Contents3

4

55

6

913

15

19

19

20

21

Waste Facts 3

This Waste Facts document

contains facts and figures on waste

generation, waste diversion,

recovery, and management

practices from various sectors

of Alberta’s society. It should be

used in conjunction with Alberta’s

Waste Strategy entitled Too Good

to Waste: Making Conservation

a Priority.

Introduction

Waste Facts4

Alberta’s waste managementsystem has been divided into five “sectors” based on the type of residual materials beingmanaged or the economic sectorgenerating the materials(municipal, hazardous, oil & gas,agriculture, and forestry).

The relative production ofresidual materials is presented in Figure 1.

The diversion percentage of thesematerials is presented in Figure 2.

Waste Generation Sectors

Figure 1Production by Sector (‘000 tonnes)

Agriculture

Oil & Gas

3,80712,893

5,996

3,480

226

Forestry

Municipal

Hazardous

(Sources for Figure 1 and 2 include StatisticsCanada, Energy and Utilities Board, AlbertaForest Products Assoc., Alberta Agriculture, Alberta Environment)

Figure 2Recovery Rates by Sector (per cent)

(Note: Municipal solid waste is further brokeninto residential and non-residential waste.Non-residential waste includes waste fromthe industrial, commercial, and institutionalsector, and the construction, renovation anddemolition sector.)

Ag

ricu

ltur

e

Fore

stry

Oil

& G

as

Res

iden

tial

Was

te

Co

mm

erci

al W

aste

0

20

40

60

80

100

Waste Facts 5

Alberta’s waste managementinfrastructure consists primarily of facilities for collection ofrecyclables (approximately 4,000),waste disposal, and wastehandling. An extensive network of collection facilities for used oil,beverage containers, scrap tires,waste electronics, etc., allows forconvenient drop-off and collection.The processing of recyclables isaccomplished through a limitednumber of composting andrecycling operations. Energyrecovery facilities are alsocurrently limited in Alberta. The capacity of waste disposalfacilities is currently much moreextensive than the infrastructurecapacity for materials recovery.

Waste Management Facilities

LAND APPLICATION

A significant volume of materials(an estimated 1,000,000 dry tonnes annually not includingagricultural manure applications)is applied directly to land everyyear. This includes applications of drilling waste, compost, woodash, hydrocarbons, bio-solids from sewage treatment plants andpulp sludge.

Waste Facts6

(Source: Statistics Canada)

Statistics Canada separates MSWinto two categories: residential and non-residential waste. Figure 3 shows Alberta leads thecountry in the per capita disposalof Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) at 968 kg/person.

Municipal Waste Generation

Did you know?

> One tonne of municipal garbagetakes up 1.5 - 2.5 cubic metresof space in a landfill.

> Studies show that 25 per cent ofmunicipal waste can be divertedaway from landfills throughchanges in consumer behaviour.(Source: Waste Not, March 2004)

> During the first 15 years of burial in a landfill, only 25 per cent of organic materialsuch as food and yard wastedecomposes. Other trash cankeep its original weight, volume,and form for at least 40 years. (Source: Waste Not, March 2004)

> Organic materials thatdecompose in landfills canproduce methane gas. Oftencalled landfill gas, methane is 21 times more potent than C02as a greenhouse gas. The bestplace for organic materials is in acomposting facility, a bio-digesteror an energy extraction facility(Source: Environment Canada –

Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2000).

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

New

foun

dla

nd-

Lab

rad

or

No

va S

coti

a

New

Bru

nsw

ick

Que

bec

Ont

ario

Man

ito

ba

Sask

atch

ewan

Alb

erta

Bri

tish

Co

lum

bia

Figure 3Waste Disposal – 2004(kg/capita)

Waste Facts 7

Figure 4 shows the per cent ofMSW each category is responsible for generating.

by construction, renovations, anddemolition activities and includesmaterial such as: concrete, brick,painted and treated wood, rubble,drywall, metal, cardboard, doors,windows, and wiring, butexcludes clean sand or gravel.

Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional includes (non-hazardous) solid wastegenerated by all IC&I sources in a municipality. These include:

• industrial materials, which aregenerated by manufacturing,and secondary industries, and managed off-site from the manufacturing operation.Mining, agriculture, and forestrywastes (primary industrywastes), contaminated soil andoilfield wastes are not includedin the Statistics Canada data;

• commercial materials, whichare generated by commercialoperations such as shoppingcentres, restaurants, offices, etc.; and

• institutional materials, whichare generated by institutionalfacilities such as schools,hospitals, government facilities,senior’s homes, universities, etc.

Figure 4MSW by Category – 2004(per cent)

Residential includes (non-hazardous) solid wasteproduced by residences that is picked up by the municipality(either using its own staff orthrough contracting firms) or self-hauled to depots, transferstations and disposal facilities.

Non-Residential includesconstruction, renovation anddemolition waste and industrial,commercial and institutional waste.

Construction, Renovation and Demolition includes (non-hazardous) waste generated

(Source: Statistics Canada)

Residential

Non-Residential

34per cent66

per cent

Waste Facts8

WASTE COMPOSITION

(Source: Opportunities for Accelerated SolidWaste Reduction in Alberta – Part 1 WorkingDocument, Oct. 1997)

• 31 per cent of (MSW) is organic(table scraps, leaf and yard waste,disposable diapers and sanitaryproducts, pet feces, screeningsfrom sewage treatment plants, etc.)

• 34 per cent of (MSW) is paper.

WASTE MANAGEMENTCOSTS

There are significant costs associatedwith the disposal of waste. Table 1indicates a 79 per cent increase incosts (1996 - 2004) associated withwaste management expenditures for Alberta municipalities.

Table 1

Year Municipal Waste Expenditures

1996 $ 101,272,000

1998 $ 105,586,000

2000 $ 148,594,000

2002 $ 152,387,000

2004 $ 181,367,000(Source: Statistics Canada)

Waste Facts 9

Non-hazardous Solid Waste Diversion/Recycling

Did you know?

> In 2007, the Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) took over the toll-free Alberta RecycleInformation Line 1-800-463-6326or (780) 427-6982. RCA offersinformation on recycling andwaste minimization topics tomunicipalities, businesses, andthe general public.

Figure 5Alberta Waste – 2004(tonnes)

(Source: Statistics Canada)

0

5,000,000Generation

Disposal

Res

iden

tial

No

n-R

esid

enti

al

Diversion

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

Figure 6Materials Prepared forRecycling by Type – 2004(tonnes)

(To meet confidentiality requirements, StatisticsCanada did not disclose electronics orcopper/aluminum recycling figures for Alberta.)

Org

anic

s

Car

db

oar

d

New

spri

nt

Ferr

ous

Met

ials

Gla

ss

Mix

ed P

aper

Co

nstr

ucti

on

& D

emo

litio

n

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Whi

te G

oo

ds

Mix

ed M

etal

s

Pla

stic

s

Tire

s

Waste Facts10

COMPOSTING

At least 600,000 tonnes of yardand garden waste, lawn clippingsand kitchen scraps could bediverted from landfills each year.The Edmonton CompostingFacility is the largest of its type inthe world, representing 35 per cent of Canada’s centralizedcomposting capacity. In 2002, this facility processed 167,000tonnes of MSW and produced70,000 tonnes of compost.

BEVERAGE CONTAINERS

• 57,000 tonnes of recycledproducts are produced annuallyfrom beverage containers.Products include: newaluminium cans, plastic lumber,fiberglass insulation, napkinsand specialty paper.

• In 2006, there were more than 1.9 billion beverage containers(excluding milk) sold in Alberta.

• In 2006, Alberta collected andrecycled 1.5 billion beveragecontainers. This equates to:

- 441 empty containers per Albertan

- 384,000 metric tonnes of containers being divertedfrom landfills

- an average return rate of 74 per cent

• 722,706,865 aluminium canswere diverted from Albertalandfills in 2006.

• More than 200 independentlyowned bottle depots operate in the province.

Did you know?

> Composting is nature’s recyclingsystem: it keeps organic materialout of the waste stream andprovides a natural fertilizer for gardens.

> An average family of four cancompost over 500 kilograms offood and yard waste in a year.(Source: Waste Not, March 2004)

> If Albertans diverted householdfood scraps from the landfill tocomposting, there would be anet CO2 emissions savings of237,690 tonnes per year.Diverting to an anaerobicdigester would result in a netCO2 emissions savings of213,500 tonnes per year.Assumption: Each Albertahousehold produces three kg of food scraps/week.

(Source: CO2 emissions: “Determination ofthe Impact of Waste Management Activitieson GHG Emissions: 2005 Update” NaturalResources Canada and Environment Canada)

Waste Facts 11

What Happens to Used Oil Materials?

In 2005

• 4 per cent was used as heatingoil in small space heaters

• 22 per cent was re-refined intolubricating base oil

• 23 per cent was reprocessed intoother petroleum products

• 51 per cent was used as heating oil by industrial and asphalt plants

• 24 per cent of used containers were used to make new containers

• 76 per cent of used containerswere reprocessed into durablegoods (e.g. guardrail posts,curbs, plastic pipe, etc.)

• All filters collected wereprocessed at steel recycling millsfor use in new metal products(e.g. rebar, nails, wire).

Did you know?

> 84 million litres of used oil wascollected and recycled in 2006 –80.1 per cent returned

> 7 million oil filters werecollected and recycled in 2006 – 89 per cent returned

> 1.7 million kg of used oilcontainers were collected and recycled in 2006 – 61.3 per cent returned

> Recycling used oil is estimatedto conserve more than 189,000barrels of crude oil per year.

USED OIL MATERIALS

Did you know?

> 95 per cent less energy isrequired to produce a newaluminium can from recycledmaterial than from raw material.

> In 2006, Albertans saved theequivalent of over 433,000barrels of crude oil by recyclingtheir beverage containers.

> Albertans fail to redeem morethan $18 million worth of empty container deposits by not recycling each year.

Waste Facts12

SCRAP TIRES

• Over 4,500,000 tires arediscarded by Albertans per yearand recycled.

• 40,000,000 tires have beenrecycled since 1992

What Happens to Scrap Tires?

• More than 80 per cent of therecycled rubber material is used right here in Alberta.

• Recycled scrap tire productsmanufactured in Albertainclude “loose crumb” for safer-than-sand playgrounds, loosecrumb filled “mattresses” forthe dairy industry, mouldedproducts such as patio “pavers”,floor tiles and residentialroofing shingles.

• Tire shred is used as drainagematerial in civil engineeringapplications.

• Research into the use ofrecycled rubber as an additiveto asphalt has been undertakensince 2002. Promising resultsinclude: noise reduction,traction, and reduced cracking

• The Alberta Research Council is looking at the feasibility ofreclaiming rubber from scraptires as a substitute for virginrubber polymer materials.

SCRAP ELECTRONICS

12,000 tonnes of waste electronicswere collected between October2004 and March 2007.

• 230,000 monitors• 195,000 computers• 110,000 printers• 100,000 televisions

What Happens to ScrapElectronics?

• The steel from computers goesto steel foundries

• The cathode ray tubes go to a lead smelter

• The non-ferrous metals (e.g. aluminum) go to metal recyclers

• The plastic goes to plasticrecyclers or to energy recovery

Waste Facts 13

ROLE OF DELEGATEDADMINISTRATIVEORGANIZATIONS INMUNICIPAL WASTEREDUCTION

Three Delegated AdministrativeOrganizations, operating at armslength from government, report to the Environment Minister. Each one is supported bygovernment regulation, has theauthority to generate revenue, has a dedicated fund to operate its program, and is managed by a Board of Directors.

Beverage ContainerManagement Board (BCMB)

The (BCMB) is a partnership ofbeverage manufacturers, depotoperators, environmentalorganizations, municipalities, the public, and the AlbertaGovernment. The Board works to ensure Albertans have an easy-to-use and cost-effective recyclingsystem for beverage containers.The program began as a responseto the litter created by disposablebeverage containers. Consumerspay a deposit when purchasingapplicable containers and arerefunded that deposit upon takingthe containers to a bottle depot.

Contact Information:Phone: 1-888-424-7671Email: info@bcmb.ab.cawww.bcmb.ab.ca

Waste Facts14

Alberta Used Oil ManagementAssociation (AUOMA)

The Alberta Used Oil ManagementAssociation (AUOMA) is a not-for-profit organization.Membership is a requirement for allfirst sellers of oil materials in Alberta.The association is comprised ofrepresentatives from manufacturing,retailing, consumers, urban and rural municipalities, theProvince of Alberta and other non-government organizations.

Formed in 1993, AUOMA wasestablished to manage the millionsof litres of used oil, oil filters andplastic oil containers that werebeing improperly disposed of inAlberta. Each applicable oil productis assessed an EnvironmentalHandling Charge that is paid at the wholesale level. Collected fundsare dedicated to the collection and processing of used oil materialand administrative costs. A returnincentive is paid to registered collectors for pick-up and delivery of materials.

Contact Information:Phone: 1-888-922-2298Email: reception@usedoilrecycling.comwww.usedoilrecycling.com

Alberta Recycling ManagementAuthority (Alberta Recycling)

The Alberta Recycling ManagementAuthority (Alberta Recycling) is anot-for-profit association managedby a Board of Directors representingmany different stakeholders.Originally established in 1992 to administer the province's tirerecycling program, AlbertaRecycling has evolved and now also manages the waste electronicsrecycling program, which began in 2004 and was the first of its kindin Canada, as well as the recently-announced paint recycling program.All programs are funded byenvironmental fees collected on the sale of eligible products sold in Alberta. Through the programs'successes, Alberta Recyclingdemonstrates the benefits of multi-material administration byapplying consistent policies andprocedures for environmentalstewardship, and achievingimproved program efficiencies.

Contact Information:Phone: 1-888-999-8762Email: mail@albertarecycling.cawww.albertarecycling.ca

Waste Facts 15

Hazardous waste is comprised of materials that are toxic,flammable, reactive or corrosiveand includes a wide variety ofwastes such as: contaminated soil,solvents, pesticides, PCBs, used oiland industrial sludges.

• Over 200,000 tonnes ofhazardous waste/recyclablesare generated in Alberta annually.

• Most of the hazardous waste in Alberta is contaminated soil –this material is sent to either of Alberta’s two commercialhazardous waste landfills.

• The Swan Hills TreatmentCentre destroys persistentorganic wastes through high-temperature incineration. Since1987, this facility has destroyedmore than 285,000 tonnes ofhazardous waste. Alberta’sentire inventory of PCBs hasbeen virtually eliminated.

• Over two thirds of hazardouswaste is recycled.

Hazardous Waste Generation

Figure 7Hazardous Waste Generation and Recovery in Alberta – 1996 to 2006(tonnes)

(Source: Alberta Environment)

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

1996 199919981997 200220012000 2003 200620052004

Recycled

Disposal/Destruction

Waste Facts16

(Information regarding the disposition ofhazardous recyclables is not currently available.)

HOUSEHOLDHAZARDOUS WASTE

• Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) (generated byhouseholds) is exempt fromhazardous waste tracking andmanagement provisions whendisposed of by householders.The voluntary HHW roundupprogram helps to divert this waste stream frommunicipal landfills.

• The HHW program treats and disposes of more than one million litres of material per year.

• Over 10 million litres of HHWhave been safely treated and disposed of in Alberta since 1988.

• Paint makes up approximately70 to 75 per cent of the HHWmaterial collected. A programspecifically for paint is beingimplemented.

Figure 8Hazardous Waste Dispositions – 2006(per cent)

Recycled in Alberta

Disposed in Alberta

52 per cent

2 per cent

Recycled Outside Alberta

Swan Hills Treatment Centre

Treatment Outside Alberta

2 per cent

14 per cent

30 per cent

Waste Facts 17

OBSOLETE PESTICIDES

• The pesticide manufacturingindustry (CropLife Canada) hassupported obsolete pesticidecollections across Canada as aproduct stewardship initiative.

• 184,000 kilograms of obsoletepesticides were collected fromAlberta farmsteads over threeseparate collections in 2002,2003, and 2004.

• Funding was provided byCropLife Canada, Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada, throughthe Agriculture & Food Councilof Alberta. A number of otheragencies supported the program.

• Over 50 per cent of productscollected were older than 10 years.

• Over 99.9 per cent of pesticidespurchased by Alberta farmersare used as intended.

COMMERCIAL PESTICIDECONTAINERS

• The pesticide manufacturingindustry (CropLife Canada)manages pesticide containercollection and recycling fromapproximately 100 collectionsites across Alberta.

• Municipal governments managecontainer collection sites.

• 1.4 million containers arecollected annually.

• Over 20,000,000 containers havebeen collected in Alberta sinceprogram began in 1980.

• The Alberta collection programhas been operating as part of anational collection system since1989 – 55,000,000 containershave been collected nationallysince 1989.

• 75 per cent of Canadian plasticis recycled into fence posts.

• 25 per cent of Canadian plasticis used as a natural gassubstitute in the processing of concrete aggregate.

Waste Facts18

CONTAMINATED SOIL

• By weight, contaminated soil is Alberta’s single largesthazardous waste stream. A number of private landfillsoperate specifically to receivecontaminated soil.

• It is estimated that at least3,000,000 tonnes of contaminatedsoil is landfilled in Albertaannually (accurate informationregarding contaminated soildisposal is currently limited).

• Contaminated soil resultsprimarily from oil and gasdevelopment, petroleum storage(underground storage tanks),industrial development, andaccidental spills. Much of thesoil contamination in Alberta is a “legacy” from times whenenvironmental protectionstandards were less stringent. As former industrial orcommericial areas (e.g. gasstations) come under re-development, contaminatedsoil needs to be remediated or removed.

Waste Facts 19

The Energy and Utilities Boardrequires the generators of oilfieldwastes to track all dangerousoilfield waste and reportableoilfield wastes from the point ofgeneration to the final point ofdisposition (cradle to grave). The Annual Oilfield WasteDisposition Reports identify thelargest quantities of reportedoilfield wastes to be contaminatedsoil, produced sand, sludges, andwell work over fluids. The mostcommon dispositions for oilfieldwastes are landfilling, treatment at an oilfield waste managementfacility, biodegradation (one-time,on-site), and deep well disposal.

The Alberta Forest ProductsAssociation works with itsmember companies to reducewaste, or to enhance value fromresidual products that have amarket value or alternative use. In 1998, a detailed surveyexamined the types of woodresiduals generated by Albertaforest product companies andtheir end uses. Energy recovery(boiler fuel, heat for drying, etc)accounts for approximately 80 per cent of wood residual use(approximately 2,000,000 tonnes).

Oil & Gas Waste Generation

Forestry Waste Generation

Waste Facts20

Alberta has some of the largestconfined feedlot operations andmeat packing plants in Canada.Agricultural production andprocessing produces highvolumes of organic residualsincluding manure, straw andlivestock processing waste.

MANURE

Where manure production issurplus to land nutrient needs, it’s possible to use the excess togenerate energy and otherproducts such as compost orfertilizers. Manure can beclassified according to source.Based on data from StatisticsCanada (2004) and Agricultureand Food, the largest sources ofmanure are:

1. 2,900,000 beef cattle in feedlots 2. 2,775,000 cow/calf units

on farms3. 190,000 dairy cows. 4. 2,050,000 hogs5. 3,172,221 poultry

STRAW

Most manure and straw residuesare returned to land. The provinceusually has an excess of strawduring normal years. This excessis normally found in the Black Soil

Zone. This soil zone runs fromHigh River through to Camroseand Westlock and east betweenWainwright and St. Paul over to the Saskatchewan border.

LIVESTOCK PROCESSING

The province also has some of thelargest meat rendering facilities inCanada. This includes both beefand hog processing. In 2004Alberta processed:

• 2,600,000 beef animals• 3,008,995 hogs

Figure 9 identifies current volumein tonnes, of agriculture’s straw,manure, and livestock processingfeedstock’s (as a per cent).

Agricultural Waste Generation

Figure 9Agricultural Residuals(per cent)

Manure

Straw

Livestock Processing

7 per cent

46 per cent47

per cent

Waste Facts 21

1971

A requirement under the RefuseDisposal System regulations was“any person or municipalitywishing to operate a refusedisposal site (must acquire) a permit from the ProvincialBoard of Health”.

1972

The Beverage Container RecyclingProgram is first established. This program includes depositrefund system for select beveragecontainers. As of 2006, thisprogram manages the recycling of all ready-to-serve non-milkbeverage containers sold in theprovince (e.g., pop, juice, water,and soy beverage containers).

1975

Under the Waste ManagementAssistance Program, municipalitiesreceived financial assistance tomanage solid wastes. By 2004over 350 dumps were closed andmore than 40 regional landfillsdeveloped through the program.

1976

The Resource Recovery GrantProgram (provided) assistance to municipalities to developrecycling and waste minimizationprojects. The grant programcovered 75 per cent of costs whilethe applicants covered the other25 per cent.

The Alberta Government builds a regional sanitary landfillnorthwest of Pincher Creek for $500,000 to demonstrate and promote regional landfills.The project helped eliminate opendumps and associated problemsin the eight participatingcommunities in the CrowsnestPass/Pincher Creek area.

1980

Alberta establishes a pesticidecontainer collection program for the province. Farmers andcommercial applicators left emptycontainers at collection sites.Municipal governments, transferstation and landfill operators then transferred the containers to permanent sites where theywere processed.

Alberta Waste Management Milestones

Waste Facts22

1982

The Special Waste ManagementCorporation Act allowed a crowncorporation to ensure theestablishment, operation, andmaintenance of facilities to dealadequately with hazardous wastes.

The citizens of Swan Hills, Albertavoted 79 per cent in favour ofhaving a hazardous waste treatmentcentre located near their town.

1985

The Alberta Hazardous Chemicals Act was the first legislation passed in Canada to controlhazardous waste.

1988

The Household Hazardous Waste program was launched.Communities’ hosted “roundups” in which they collected wastesfrom households, primarily paint. By 2004, 114 communitiesparticipated in the program and over nine million litres of household hazardous waste was collected and properlyrecycled/treated and disposed.

1990

A ten-year voluntary programcalls for members of the NationalPackaging Protocol (NaPP) to cut their amount of packagingdisposal in half by 2000.

1991

The Action on Waste Program was launched to:

• oversee regulated and voluntaryrecycling programs

• represent Alberta Environmenton boards and committees

• expand waste reductionprograms

• create and distributeeducational materials

• operate the toll-free RecyclingInformation Line.

Waste Facts 23

1992

The Environmental Protection andEnhancement Act (EPEA) passesJune 26, 1992, and came into forceSeptember 1, 1993. Nine acts wereconsolidated to form EPEA: the Agricultural Chemicals Act, The Beverage Container Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Ground WaterDevelopment Act, the HazardousChemicals Act, the Land SurfaceConservation and Reclamation Act,the Litter Act, and sections of theDepartment of the Environment Act.

The Tire Recycling Program isregulated. The program providesincentives to businesses thatcollect and recycle tires.

1993

The Waste Control Regulationaddressed the control of waste(litter); the identification,handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste; and thetreatment, storage, and recyclingof hazardous recyclables.

1996

The Waste Control Regulation is updated. Standards for landfillsand compost facilities are added.Responsibility for landfills istransferred from Alberta Health,to Alberta Environment.

The Energy and Utilities Board’sGuide 50 provided an overview ofon and off site disposal methods;information, notification, andapproval requirements; samplingmethods, and toxicity assessmentfor oilfield waste.

1997

The Used Lubricating OilRecovery Program is regulated.The public was able to drop offused oil, oil filters, and containersat designated collection facilitiesfor recycling.

Recycling of Tetra Paks isintroduced to the BeverageContainer recycling program.

1999

Recycling of plastic milk jugs isintroduced. These jugs are madeof high-density polyethylene andare a valuable recycling material.

Waste Facts24

2000

The Energy and Utilities Board(EUB) and Alberta Environmentclarified the division of regulatoryresponsibilities for oilfield wastebased on the type of wastemanagement facility or activity.

The Government of Alberta tookover ownership of the Swan HillsTreatment Centre and establisheda contact operator to continuetreatment of hazardous waste.

Consultations on hazardous waste management are held to update hazardous wastemanagement systems.

2001

Alberta Environment adopts agoal to reduce Municipal SolidWaste disposal to 500 kg/capitaby 2010.

The first phase of the “Partners inRecycling Program”, a voluntaryprogram to encourage therecycling of spent fluorescent lighttubes and computers, is launched.Phase I focused on encouragingrecycling of these materials in theMUSH sector (Municipalities,Universities, Schools, andHospitals). The program did not achieve its goal of a 75 per cent recycling rate by 2002.Only 25 per cent of computers and 107,000 meters of fluorescentbulbs were recycled.

The Municipal WasteManagement OperatorCertification Program wasimplemented as a result of theWaste Control Regulation whichstated, “…(Class II or III landfillsor Class I or II compost facilities)shall be supervised by a specifiednumber of certified operators…”

Recycling of beer containers isintroduced to the BeverageContainer recycling program.

Waste Facts 25

2002

The Agricultural Operation PracticesAct provides regulations forspreading manure or compost (or composting materials) for alllivestock operations in Alberta.

The second phase of the “Partners in Recycling Program”(a voluntary program to recyclespent fluorescent light tubes (FLT)and computers) was launched.Phase II focused on encouragingrecycling within the industrial,commercial, and institutional (ICI) sector. By 2004, only 40 ICIpartners voluntarily joined theprogram. The voluntary programfor computers ended in 2004 withthe introduction of a regulatedelectronics recycling program. As of 2006, the voluntary programfor FLTs is still in operation.

2003

Report on hazardous wastemanagement identifies the need to resolve several outstandingissues including hazardous waste treatment.

2004

Alberta Environment releases its Municipal Waste Action Plan2004-2006. The Action Planhighlights key activities andapproaches, to target and achieveimproved recycling of key wastematerials. The plan also identifiesseveral outstanding issues.

The Electronics RecyclingProgram is regulated. It becomesthe first provincial electronicrecycling program in Canada.Consumers purchasing electronicequipment included in theprogram (currently televisionsand computer equipment) arerequired to pay a $5 - $45 feeupon purchase to finance theprogram. The fees fund recycling,education/awareness programsand related research.

Waste Facts26

2004-2007

Alberta Environment developsa waste strategy to resolveoutstanding issues andconsolidate approaches to wastemanagement across municipaland industrial sectors. A WasteStrategy report entitled Too Good toWaste: Making Conservation aPriority is released. A companiondocument entitled Waste Factsaccompanies the release.

Alberta Environment announced a paint stewardship program,aimed at safe recycling or disposal alternatives forhousehold paint products.

For more information, or to order additional copies,contact:

Alberta EnvironmentInformation CentreMain Floor, 9820 - 106 StreetEdmonton, AB T5K 2J6Toll-free: Dial 310-0000

and the phone numberTelephone: (780) 427-2700www.environment.alberta.ca

ISBN No. 978-0-7785-6777-6

printed on recycled paper

This document is printed on chlorine-free paper made from

100 per cent post-consumer fibre. In choosing this paper,

Alberta Environment saved 4,879 litres of water, prevented

128 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, conserved 3 trees

and diverted 65 kilograms of waste from Alberta landfills.

The paper was produced using wind power, which prevented

66 kilograms of air emissions and saved the use of 10 cubic

metres of natural gas.