While diversion of all waste materials is on the rise, the Canadian compost pile is growing particularly rapidly, according to a new study.
From 2000 to 2004, composting at centralized facilities increased 70 percent to 1.7 million tonnes, according to data from the Waste Management Industry Survey. The average Canadian sent 51 kilograms of organic waste for composting in 2004, compared with just 32 kilograms in 2000.
Nationally, close to two-thirds of the diverted organic waste was generated by the residential sector. The study,
"Is composting organic waste spreading?" is published in EnviroStats, Statistics Canada's quarterly bulletin on environmental and sustainable development statistics.
Along with recycling, diverting organic waste for composting is a way of reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfills and incinerators. Materials such as food waste and leaf and yard trimmings can be composted. Most households still compost in the backyard, but the use of curbside collection systems is growing.
According to data from the Households and the Environment Survey, 27 percent of Canadian households composted their waste in some way in 2006, compared with 23 percent in 1994.