New survey indicates over 5 million tonnes of organics processed annually in Canada, potential to double capacity

Summary results of a new national survey of organics recycling conducted by The Compost Council of Canada indicate organic residuals as the #1 material recycled by tonnage in the country, along with the opportunity for exponential industry growth.

The new survey provides information about many of the centralized composting and anaerobic digestion facilities in Canada along with information concerning regulations, guidelines and other information documents that impact the current and future development of the Canadian organics recycling industry. Also now available from the Compost Council of Canada is an interactive map: "Organics Recycling Across Canada", which identifies organics recycling facilities in each province and territory.

"This public information service has been created by The Council to not only acknowledge the tremendous achievements of our industry to-date but also support all organics recycling advocates as we continue working towards realizing our industry's full potential," declared Larry Conrad, Chair, National Board of Directors, The Compost Council of Canada. 

"Whether the priority is waste diversion, water conservation, healthy soils, locally renewable product manufacturing, incorporating proven technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or effective natural resource utilization, the focused attention on organics recycling will deliver measurable gains to any community's sustainability scoreboard."

For nearly thirty years, The Compost Council of Canada has been working with industry visionaries to establish organics recycling programs of all kinds. The dedication of organizations and individuals across the country have taken the concept of recycling organic residuals and transformed this into real-life accomplishments that are substantially delivering powerful positive benefits for local economies and the environment.

"From a national diversion total of 275,000 tonnes in 1992/1993, our current survey indicates that over 5.3 million tonnes of organic residuals are now being processed annually across Canada," said Susan Antler, Executive Director. 

"Considered as a fundamental essential community service, organics recycling programs, whether supported by composting or anaerobic digestion technology or their combination, have resulted in organic residuals being the #1 material recycled by tonnage in Canada. And yet, the opportunity remains for further exponential industry growth which could double existing capacity."

The upcoming 30th Annual Organics Recycling Conference and 1^st Virtual Conference of The Compost Council of Canada --- THE FUTURE STARTS HERE -- will be held during the week of September 28 - October 2, 2020, focused on reviewing learning to-date while also detailing the many opportunities to further support and expand organics recycling across all sectors of Canadian society. Mark your calendars now and plan to participate.

For more information and to access the map of organics recycling facilities across Canada, visit www.compost.org.