by June Chua

Statistics Canada estimates this country produces 21 million tonnes of garbage annually. That number places Canadians in the top five in the world when it comes to the amount of waste each person generates. Among the 29 countries with advanced economies, here are the top "most-wasteful" countries:

1. United States, 720 kg of trash per person
2. Canada, 675 kg of trash per person
3. Norway, 630 kg of trash per person
4. Mexico, 300 kg of trash person

What's in all that waste? According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (1999):

• 30 per cent is paper and paper products
• 34 per cent is food and garden waste
• 11 per cent is plastics
• 15 per cent is glass and metals
• 10 per cent is textiles and miscellaneous materials

Landfills are filling up, not to mention becoming a blight on the environment. It's estimated all that dirty, toxic, useless stuff we throw away can leach out 65,000 pollutants into our groundwater. Instead of dumping all those coffee grounds, orange rinds and food scraps in a big hole in the ground, re-usable waste can be diverted and then converted to compost. In Canada, an example of this type of recycling can be seen in Edmonton where more than 70 per cent of waste is recovered at its new $150-million compost facility. By contrast, Toronto diverts only 32 per cent of its waste from landfills.

How does Edmonton do it?

The compost facility is located on the outskirts of the city (pop. 920,000). It's about the size of eight football fields. It's the largest composting facility in North America, employing 36 people and capable of processing up to 300,000 tonnes of residential and sewage sludge annually.

Residents get a blue bag instead of the typical blue box for recycling. They put in jars, bottles, cereal boxes, milk cartons, newspapers, catalogues, gift wrap, aluminum cans and plastic containers. The bag is picked up and the contents sorted. Meanwhile, residential garbage is collected and then dumped on the plant's tipping floor where large, non-recylable items are removed by hand. Front-end loaders push garbage into five giant rotating cylinders which screen out smaller non-recyclables over 24-48 hours.

The naturally occurring bacteria helps break down the organic material into compost

What's left is mixed with sewage sludge and then channeled into a steel aeration bay where it's left for 28 days, periodically turned and moistened. The naturally occurring bacteria helps break down the organic material into compost. What's left is kept at 55?C for three days. The final product looks like dirt only it's richer in nitrogen and other minerals. The product is sold for use as topsoil.

"This isn't rocket science," says Dwayne Simmons who works at the facility. "It's pretty basic." (Toronto Star Aug. 8/00) That's not the only component of the Edmonton program. A $12 million recycling plant, which opened in 1999, diverts 15 per cent of household waste - paper, aluminum cans, plastics and milk cartons - from the garbage stream. The plant sorts out the materials which are sold back to local industries.

Albertans pay a deposit on all other beverage containers so they go to depots for refunds. The city also has two waste stations where people can bring hazardous materials like motor oil for disposal. Recycling participation is 90 per cent in Edmonton, one of the highest in the world. What may be preventing other cities from implementing such a broad program is cost. In Edmonton, the system costs $129 for each tonne of garbage while Toronto, which does not have this composting system, pays just $72 a tonne.

Wet/dry collection may be an option for other cities. Nova Scotia began a revolutionary program in 1995 forcing residents to sort through their garbage and separate it into different bags and boxes. On Nov. 1, 1998 the province banned all organic waste - grass clippings, food scraps, leaves - from landfill. Residents have a blue bag, a transparent or grocery bag and a special large green plastic box.

The blue bag takes certain plastic bottles, containers and bags, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminum cans, paper milk cartons and juice paks. In the grocery bag goes dry and clean paper, newspapers, flyers, glossy magazines, catalogues, envelopes, paper egg cartons, paperbacks and phone books. The Organic Green Cart takes in a multitude of items from food waste to grass and leaves to tissues to wax paper to wood shavings.

"More than 50 per cent of trash sent to the landfill is redirected to reycling"

Once garbage is collected, every bag of trash sent to landfill is ripped open and sorted for lids, food bits and milk cartons. More than 50 per cent of trash sent to the landfill is redirected to recycling. More than half of that is food waste.

What's left after the sorting is ground up and "cooked" in a composter. Then it's dumped in the landfill. The waste left there is considered "clean" and benign. Two years ago, Halifax stopped picking up garage from businesses. They were forced to hire private contractors. Businesses are required to recycle construction debris, tires and other products. To discourage waste, the city hiked its dumping fee to $110 per tonne. By contrast, Montreal charges $28 per tonne and in some Western towns, the charge is less than $20 per tonne. It's also illegal to throw out anything that can be recycled or composted. The city has started enforcing that law for businesses, grocery stores and restaurants.

The program is considered a success. In 1989, Nova Scotia produced 720 kilograms of trash per person, Now, it's about half that: 380 kilograms per person.