Metro Vancouver’s goal of 80 per cent waste diversion from landfills stalled

More than a decade ago, Metro Vancouver set a goal of 70 per cent waste diversion from the landfill by 2020, with an aspirational goal of an 80 per cent diversion rate.

However, by the end of 2022, the regional district was still only at 64 per cent diversion, where it has stalled since around 2016.

This is up from less than 50 per cent before 2010, thanks to a ban on the disposal of organics and clean wood, however more work by various levels of government, businesses, and individuals is needed to nudge that rate forward.

“There are some reports that are saying that we’re starting to see behaviour change, but there’s obviously a lot of work to be done,” said Rita Farkas, senior policy adviser with the National Zero Waste Council, an initiative of Metro Vancouver.

Metro says improvements to how organics and demolition waste is collected will help, but it will take more changes to federal packaging regulations to make another significant dent in the diversion rate.