In addition to general solid and liquid waste, this sector also deals with methane emissions from municipal land fill operations and fugitive methane associated with waste-water treatment. In 2017, contributions from these sources amounted to 42 Mt CO2e or 6% of the national inventory. These numbers are expected to remain constant by 2030.
Canadian capacity in landfill management and methane capture is high due to the deployment of specialty membranes, monitoring technology, and gas capture technologies. However, avoiding landfill use by capturing and reusing waste is a strength of the European Union. Circular economy deployments that cover plastics, metal, batteries, minerals, biomass, nutrients, etc. are all circular economy opportunity areas with GHG reduction potential.
Anaerobic digestion was noted previously for agriculture and can also be deployed in municipal landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. Canada has some strength in this area; however, opportunities exist for different scales of deployment.