Highlights

1. In 2006, the amount of waste disposed in public and private disposal facilities increased 8% since 2004. The province of Alberta had the highest increase at 24% while Prince Edward Island decreased the amount of waste for disposal by 13%. (Table 1-1)
2. The disposal of waste from residential sources increased 3% while waste disposed from non residential sources increased 11% since 2004. The province of Alberta had the largest increase in non-residential waste for disposal increasing 33% from 2,133,890 tonnes in 2004 to 2,846,189 tonnes in 2006. (Table 1-2)
3. Diverted materials per capita increased to 237 kilograms per Canadian from 222 kilograms. The province of New Brunswick had the highest increase, up 82% to 337 kilograms per person. Quebec, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia were not far behind achieving per capita diversion above the national average. The diversion rate in Canada remained stable at 22%. (Table 2)
4. Materials prepared for recycling increased 9% between 2004 to 2006. Organic materials had the largest increase at 32%. (Table 4-2)
5. Materials prepared for recycling from residential sources increased 11% between 2004 and 2006. This was a larger increase over non-residential sources which increased 7%. (Table 3)
6. Revenues for businesses engaged in waste management increased 17% between 2004 and 2006 while operating expenditures increased by 12%. Employment was down slightly by 5% across the country for the same time period. (Table 5-1)
7. Operating revenues for local governments from the provision of waste management services increased 16% to slightly more than $1.0 billion in 2006. Total current expenditures by local governments in Canada increased to $2.0 billion from $1.8 billion in 2004. Employment in the government sector rose by 5%. (Table 5-2)