Toronto Exceeds Diversion Goal

Rebekah A. Hall

Toronto -- Waste reduction and diversion efforts for 2003 have resulted in a 32 percent decline in trash, which means less trash is crossing the border into Michigan, city officials report.

In 2000, Toronto had a 25 percent waste reduction and diversion rate and wanted to increase that number to 30 percent by the end of 2003. However, the city exceeded its goal by: adding a wider range of materials to its Blue Box Program; providing incentives to disincentives to make waste diversion an attractive alternative; and using new technologies to handle the residual waste stream.

"The numbers … give us a running start on our next [diversion] milestone, which is even more aggressive," says Jane Pitfield, chair of the city’s works committee. "We’ve committed to 60 percent diversion from landfill[s] by 2006 , and our vision is to achieve 100 percent by 2010."