City of Ottawa’s Long Term Waste Management Survey

The City of Ottawa is seeking public feedback on future options for managing garbage. This survey focuses on landfilling and waste to energy incineration, potential long-term options for managing the garbage that remains after recycling, composting, and waste reduction efforts.

The survey will be available on Engage Ottawa from Monday, November 9 to Monday, December 14 and will be promoted through multiple channels. Feedback from residents will help inform future studies and Council decisions related to long-term waste management.

This survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and we thank you in advance for your input.

While the City has secured additional landfill capacity, it is also exploring waste to energy incineration as an option for managing residual waste, also known as garbage, that remains after recycling, composting, and waste reduction efforts.

This survey asks about your understanding of waste management, your priorities, and your views on landfilling and waste to energy incineration.

This survey will help us:

• Understand how familiar residents are with landfills and waste-to-energy incineration.

• Learn what residents think is most important for future waste management in Ottawa.
• Gather feedback on landfilling and waste to energy incineration, including benefits, concerns, and support levels.
• Understand what factors residents think should be considered when choosing a location for a potential facility.
• Identify what additional information residents would like to have about future garbage management options.

Your feedback will help inform future planning, technical studies, future public engagement, and Council decision-making related to long-term garbage management in Ottawa.

Solid Waste Master Plan

Waste Technologies Feasibility Study from June 2025

Solid Waste Services Long Range Financial Plan 2025-2053

Landfilling

• Modern landfills are designed to manage environmental impacts.
• Landfill gas can be captured and used to generate energy.
• Landfills remain the main method of waste disposal in Ontario.

Waste to energy incineration

• Waste to energy incineration facilities use a controlled burning process to reduce garbage into ash.
• The process generates energy and reduces waste volumes.
• The resulting ash must still be disposed of in a landfill but it takes up significantly less space than the original garbage.
• Modern facilities use air pollution control systems to manage emissions.
• An example in Ontario is the Durham-York Energy Centre.

Important to know

• The City is continuing to explore landfilling and waste to energy incineration as options to manage garbage in Ottawa.
• No decision has been made at this time to pursue waste to energy incineration.
• Waste reduction and reuse as well as recycling and organics diversion will continue to be priorities regardless of garbage management options.