June 24, 2025
TORONTO, ON - New calculations released today from the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) show that sending Toronto’s waste to an incinerator in Ontario will release more climate-warming emissions than landfill.
This is contrary to the City of Toronto’s recent public consultation materials about incineration, which repeat unsubstantiated claims from the waste industry that incineration is always better for the climate. We call on the City’s consultants to provide credible evidence to back up these statements.
The report Comparing the Climate Impacts of Incineration vs Landfill for Toronto’s Garbage shows that sending Toronto’s residential garbage to either of the energy-from-waste incinerators in Ontario could release between 5 to 6 times more greenhouse gas emissions than sending the same waste to an upgraded landfill with methane capture for RNG.
“The numbers behind industry claims that energy from waste incineration is “climate friendly,” just don’t add up in Toronto.” says Emily Alfred, Senior Waste Campaigner at TEA. “In fact, there aren’t many numbers at all, just unsubstantiated claims from a decade ago. That’s why we did our own calculations based on real world, current local waste and emission data. The numbers show that for Toronto, incineration is much worse for the climate than sending the same waste to landfill.”
Energy-from-waste incinerators emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, and make some of the dirtiest electricity in the province. Our calculations show that Ontario’s incinerators emit over ten times more GHGs than any other source of electricity in our province including burning fossil gas, and similar to coal. The Durham York Energy Centre’s electricity in 2023 had a carbon intensity of 778 g of CO2e per kWh, while Ontario’s grid has an average intensity between 30 and 67 g CO2e per kWh in 2024. It is inaccurate, misleading and false to claim that burning our garbage will be a “clean” source of electricity.
“You cannot make broad-sweeping statements that one method of waste disposal emits more or less greenhouse gas emissions than another,” says Belinda Li, an environmental engineer who performed the report’s calculations. “It totally depends on the conditions of each facility that you are comparing."
These calculations and consultations inform key decisions about the future of managing waste in Toronto. Getting the facts straight is critical. City Council, stakeholders and the public must have credible and up-to-date data, not unchallenged industry claims based on questionable modelling, or no modelling at all.
Quick Facts:
- Ontario’s grid has an average carbon intensity between 30g and 67g of CO2 equivalent per kWh, while Ontario’s newest incinerator emits 778 of CO2e per kWh.
- Sending Toronto’s residential garbage to either of the energy-from-waste incinerators in Ontario could release between 5 to 6 times more greenhouse gas emissions than sending the same waste to an upgraded landfill with methane capture for RNG.
Contact:
Jessica Gordon, Toronto Environmental Alliance
-30-
Download the report: Comparing the Climate Impacts of Incineration vs Landfill for Toronto’s Garbage
Backgrounder: TEA's concern about the City's consultation