Sept 19, 2025 

Toronto, ON - Today, local advocacy group Toronto Environmental Alliance is once again challenging the City of Toronto to scrap false and misleading data from their public communications about the environmental impacts of “energy from waste” incineration.

The City released materials today from a recent public survey on the City’s waste plans which presented false information about the carbon footprint of incineration and misled the public. We are calling on the City to scrap this survey entirely, and meet higher standards for accuracy in their public materials on residual waste.

“If you ask the public whether they want to turn their garbage into magical fairy dust with little to no climate or environmental impact, I’m not surprised that they would say yes,” says Emily Alfred, Senior Waste Campaigner for the Toronto Environmental Alliance. “The unfortunate truth is that garbage is harmful no matter where it ends up. The City needs to walk clear-eyed into any decision about how to handle residual waste, and not get suckered into believing biased, outdated, and frankly false claims that burning our garbage is somehow good for the climate.”

The public survey inaccurately stated that incineration “reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfilling.” But our recent analysis, which uses local data from actual incineration facilities in Ontario, and up-to-date local waste numbers, shows that energy-from-waste incineration is much worse for the climate. Guided by this false information, it appears that survey takers chose environmental impacts as their top concern, and then went on to select incineration over landfilling assuming this was the greener choice.

“Incineration and energy-from-waste is controversial around the world: some European nations are turning away from it because of its climate impact. The top concern listed by the public in the City’s survey was environmental impacts. That’s why the public, and Council, deserves all the facts before being asked to weigh in,” states Alfred.

The City of Toronto has many opportunities ahead to significantly cut down on the amount of garbage that goes into landfill. For example, the next phase of the City’s Single-Use Reduction Strategy could take strong steps to reduce disposables like coffee cups and takeout containers, which quickly add up. Taking opportunities to reduce and divert waste more seriously could extend the life of Toronto’s landfill.

Toronto has big decisions to make on the future of our waste. These decisions must be made with accurate, up-to-date information at hand, and not with inflated, greenwashed myths.

TEA’s recent report comparing the carbon footprint of incineration to landfill can be found here.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
Emily Alfred, Senior Waste Campaigner, Toronto Environmental Alliance
[email protected]
(416) 543-1542

Background:

Below in an excerpt from the City of Toronto’s 2025 online public survey on long-term waste management options:

Residual Waste

The City of Toronto is planning for a long-term solution to manage its garbage. Currently, most garbage is sent to the Green Lane Landfill, which is expected to reach capacity by 2035. The City is exploring options including:

● Disposing garbage at other landfills

● Expanding the current landfill site

● Using incineration/energy-from-waste.

Landfilling involves compacting and burying garbage at an approved site. Modern landfills use protective liners made of materials like plastic or clay to prevent the waste from leaching into local water systems. They also have systems for capturing methane emissions. Landfills sites must be monitored and managed for decades after they are full and closed. Energy-from-waste involves converting garbage to electricity or heat by burning it at high temperatures.

Energy-from-waste reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfilling but still generates material that requires disposal, often in a landfill. Energy-from-waste also has systems to manage pollutants and gases to minimize potential harmful impacts to both human health and the local environment.

Note: this introduction was not included in the City’s Sept 19th report.

About the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA): For over 35 years, the Toronto Environmental Alliance has campaigned locally to find solutions to Toronto's environmental problems. As a not-for-profit organization, we work with communities to advocate for a green, healthy and equitable city.