Islanders throw out far less garbage than anyone else in Canada, new data shows

P.E.I. sent 336 kilograms of waste per person for disposal in 2024

Prince Edward Island residents throw out less garbage per person than anyone else in the country, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The agency releases waste disposal data every two years. The latest figures, for 2024, show Islanders produced the smallest amount of trash per capita of all Canadians, about two-thirds below the national average.

"For P.E.I. specifically, things have been looking good for a while now," said Maxime Gaudet, who is responsible for Statistics Canada’s waste management survey.

"There’s a long-standing habit of reduced waste disposal sent to landfill and incineration, and very high amounts of waste per person sent for recycling and composting."

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Heather Myers, director of operations with Island Waste Management Corporation, said that habit was formed through the province’s mandatory sorting program, known as Waste Watch, which has been running for more than two decades.

"We are fortunate on P.E.I. that we are a small province, we also have a Waste Watch program that is the same program across the entire province, where other provinces have different programs depending on which region you are in or which municipality you go to," Myers said.

Statistics Canada collects data from communities, waste commissions and businesses that work in that sector. The data is collected at the point of disposal or sorting, not from individual households.

In 2024, Gaudet said, Canadians sent an average of 667 kilograms of waste per person to disposal, regardless of source. On the Island, that figure was 336 kilograms per person — 66 per cent lower than the national average.

Compared with Alberta, which had the highest level of waste going to landfill at 840 kilograms per person, P.E.I.’s disposal rate was 86 per cent lower, Gaudet said.

"P.E.I. is actually the top province compared to all others, both when looking at specifically residential waste or at all types of waste, regardless of the source," Gaudet said.

Gaudet points to composting as one of the main reasons the province sends so little to the landfill.

"P.E.I. was the pioneer in implementing composting collection in the country … and we see that reflected in the data," he said.

Gaudet noted that in 2024, the province composted and recycled about 311 kilograms per person, essentially tied with British Columbia’s 312 kilograms per person. Looking at composting alone, P.E.I. recorded 118 kilograms per person, Gaudet said.

"That probably explains in part why so little is sent to disposal."

Myers said sorting also plays an important role, from putting compostable organics in the green cart to sorting recyclables into blue bags and bundling cardboard for curbside collection.

Those materials can then be sent to markets, where they are used to make new products.

"Proper sorting helps extend the life of the landfill and helps protect the environment," she said.

Despite P.E.I.’s strong performance, the total amount of waste the Island sends to landfill has risen.

Compared with 2022, Gaudet said, there were about 5,000 more tonnes of waste sent for disposal in 2024. P.E.I.’s total was about 60,000 tonnes, versus 27.5 million tonnes Canada-wide.

"Relative to most other provinces … no, it’s not a big increase," he said. "But looking at the province itself, it’s still significant."

Myers said the increase is largely a result of population growth.

"More people are going to generate more waste," she said.

Even though P.E.I. leads the country in keeping waste out of disposal, Myers said the province doesn’t have much room to spare.

"We are a small province. We totally rely on our groundwater for our drinking water, and we don’t have a lot of space. So nobody wants to have another landfill in their backyard," she said.

The Island’s only landfill has about two decades of life left, Myers said, once a new facility by P.E.I. Energy Systems is up and running.

The goal now, she said, is to push sorting even further so less trash ends up buried.

Myers said an Island Waste Management Corporation survey in 2023 found more than 90 per cent of residents feel positive about the Waste Watch program and understand the need to separate their waste.

But she said there is still room to improve how people sort their garbage in order to extend the life of the landfill and "be better stewards" of the province.

Thinh Nguyen is a digital reporter with CBC P.E.I. He can be reached at thinh.duc.nguyen@cbc.ca