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Goal 1: Minimize Waste Generation
Goal 2: Maximize Reuse, Recycling and Material Recovery
Goal 3: Recover Energy from the Waste Stream after Material Recycling
Goal 4: Dispose of all remaining waste in landfill after material recycling and energy recovery
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Resources 

International Communities Address Waste Management
Waste management is a popular topic in Canada as many regions across our country strive to find the best way to manage our waste. It is also a challenge worldwide. The documents linked below examine managing waste, including waste-to-energy, from international perspectives including among others the UK, Germany, USA, Copenhagen and the EU.
1.0 Air Emissions

link Federal Office of the Environment of Switzerland (FOES). Letter to Metro Vancouver. March 5, 2010

link Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Review of Dioxins and Furans from Incineration: In Support of a Canada-Wide Standard Review. April 5, 2007

link United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Heather Valdez Presentation Waste-to-Energy for the BC Clean Air Forum. March 9th, 2009

link German Ministry of the Environment (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Waste Incineration – A Potential Danger? Bidding Farewell to Dioxin Sprouting. 2005
2.0 Health

link United Kingdom Health Protection Agency (UK HPA). Press Release: Air Pollution Experts Say Modern Incinerators are no Significant Threat to Public Health. September 3, 2009

link United Kingdom Environment Agency Energy from Waste and Health. Accessed on May 10, 2010

link Health Protection Scotland. Incineration of Waste and Reported Human Health Effects. 2009

link Dr. Lesbia Smith. Precis: Energy from Waste Facility in the Region of Durham. September 28, 2007

link UK Department for Environmental and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Extended Summary: Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management: Municipal Solid Waste and Similar Wastes. 2004

link American National Research Council. Waste Incineration and Public Health. 2000

link More references on Waste to Energy and Health
3.0 Waste Diversion

link Eurostat. News Release: Municipal Waste: Half a Ton of Municipal Waste Generated Per Person in the EU27 in 2007. Almost 40% of this Waste was Recycled or Composted. March 19, 2010

link German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Waste Incineration and Waste Prevention: Not a Contradiction in Terms. July 2008

link Alliance 90/The Greens of Germany. Alternatives for the Waste Industry. February, 2006

link Jonathan Kiser. MSW Management Journal for Municipal Solid Waste Professionals. Answering the Tough Questions About Recycling – WTE Compatibility. May/June 2006

link Berenyi, E.B. A Compatibility Study: Recycling and Waste-to-Energy Work in Concert. 2008

link UK Advisory Committee on Packaging. Packaging in Perspective. October, 2008

link UK WRAP. Summary Report: Barriers to recycling at home. August, 2008

link Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Session 3: EPR Programme Implementation: Institutional And Structural Factors. December 13-14, 2001

link UK WRAP. Summary report: Environmental benefits of recycling – 2010 update. March, 2010

link European Environment Agency. EU as a Recycling Society: Present recycling levels of Municipal Waste and Construction & Demolition Waste in the EU. April, 2009

link Christina Seidel. Presentation: Around the World in a Box - International Packaging Stewardship Programs. May, 2008
4.0 Climate Change

link United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Frequently Asked Questions (#54).How should we treat CO2 emissions from waste incineration, where the waste is of mixed biogenic and non-biogenic material?

link Environment and Energy Study Institute (EESI). Reconsidering Municipal Solid Waste as a Renewable Energy Feedstock. Issue Brief. July 2009

link Institute for Environmental Research & Education of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (IERE). Letter to Metro Vancouver. Comments on Results of Life-Cycle Assessments. Feb.17, 2010

link European Environment Agency (EEA). Briefing: Better Management of Municipal Waste will Reduce GHG Emissions. 2008

link German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Press Release No.57/2007: Protect climate, save resources, improve quality of life. August 28, 2007

link German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Press Release No.72/2006: Use waste, protect the climate. November 21, 2006

link German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Press Release No.1/2010: Germany’s Waste Industry Does it’s Bit to Protect the Climate. November 21, 2006

link United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Newsletter: Science Matters. Energy from Waste: Bury or Burn? March 31st, 2010

link United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices. September, 2009
5.0 Energy Recovery

link Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). America’s Own Energy Source – clean, renewable, safe and economical

link American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (Solid Waste Division). Waste-to-Energy: A Renewable Energy Source from Municipal Solid Waste. Position Statement made by the Solid Waste Processing Division. No. 08-22, August 2008

link International District Heating Association (IDEA). Copenhagen’s District Heating System – Recycling Waste Heat Reduces Carbon Emissions and Delivers Energy Security. 2009

link Kobenhavns. District Heating in Copenhagen: An Energy Efficient, Low Carbon, and Cost Effective Energy System. 2009

link Swedish District Heating Association. Ola Alterå Presentation: Think Globally, Invest Locally: Recycle Energy at IDEA’s 96th Annual Conference. June 2005

link EurObserv’ER. Journal of Renewable Energy: Renewable Municipal Solid Waste Barometer. 2008
Presentations
These presentations were delivered at five locations in the summer and fall 2009.
 Air Quality Modelling of Options for Management of Waste After Recycling
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 Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Metro Vancouver - A comparative analysis of options for managing waste after recycling
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 A European Perspective on Waste Management
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 Waste Management Options: Public Health Considerations
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PDF icon Presentation from San Francisco, made in Vancouver in 2007, which outlines that city’s approach to zero waste.
In addition to the presentations above, and to public consultation activities, Metro has also held two symposiums and a workshop on three key waste topics; packaging, district heating and wood.
Packaging- Metro Vancouver Packaging Waste Symposium, May 28th & 29th, 2008
Metro Vancouver convened a Packaging Symposium to explore management of packaging waste, considering tools and incentives including BC’s policy and regulatory framework for industry-led Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). A summary of the information discussed at the symposium can be found in the presentations below.

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District Heating- Metro Vancouver and Urban Development Institute: District Energy Workshop, March 31st, 2009
Metro Vancouver, together with the Urban Development Institute, hosted a District Energy Workshop. District heating can be obtained from waste-to-energy facilities by using the heat generated from the mass burn of municipal solid waste. A district heating system distributes heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as indoor heating and water heating. Below is a series of presentations that provided information for the workshop.

Keynote Speaker:
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Presentations
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PDF icon Emerging District Energy Systems - Stacy Corix
PDF icon Seattle Steam Company - Stan Gent
Wood- Metro Vancouver Wood Waste Symposium, June 2nd & 3rd, 2009
Currently, wood waste makes up about 15% of our waste stream (240,000 tonnes per year). Close to 100 people participated in the symposium including representatives from generators, processors and consumers of wood waste, as well as government officials from across the region.

Link arrow Summary of discussions from the symposium

PDF icon  Metro Vancouver Wood Waste Symposium Summary Report
 Below are five presentations made April 19, 2008 at a public Council of Councils meeting.

History of planning to replace the Cache Creek landfill

This timeline includes the major dates, decisions and milestones that have impacted the path Metro Vancouver has taken to find an alternative for the capacity of waste currently sent to the Cache Creek Landfill, and how waste from this region’s residents and businesses is managed.

PDF icon Timeline of Events to Replace the Cache Creek Landfill
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Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan
 
Where does your garbage go?

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Food Compost
Park Royal Recycling Program
Strathcona Zero Waste Challenge
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