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Waste


The greenhouse gases (GHG) in this category are the on-site emissions from disposal of solid waste, as well as waste or wastewater treatment.

Sources of these emissions include the following:

  • landfilling of solid waste
  • flaring of landfill gas
  • treatment of liquid waste
  • waste incineration. (1)


A major source of the GHG from landfill comes from the decomposition of organic waste. (2)

Organic waste in landfills produces methane. If you compost, the organic waste produces carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane has 25 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.

Although waste accounted for only 4% of Manitoba's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2009, it has been increasing rapidly since 1990.

The 2009 level is 46% higher than in 1990. (3)


Click chart to enlarge

For a PDF file with this data, click here.

All data are in CO2 equivalent kilotonnes per year. (1 kilotonne = 1000 tonnes = 1 million kilograms)


Waste generation rate


In 2004, Manitoba’s waste generation rate was 793 kg per capita and our recycling rate was 200 kg per capita. This means we had a 20.2% recycling rate.

This placed us 7th out of the 10 provinces, just ahead of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland/Labrador.

In 2004, Canadian households and businesses generated more than 25 million tonnes of non-hazardous solid waste.

On average, 23.7% of all waste materials in Canada were diverted from disposal to be recycled or composted. This is up slightly from 2002 levels. The remainder, over 17 million tonnes, was either placed in a landfill or incinerated. (4)