Garbage and its impact on climate change

Climate change is a hot topic these days with the federal government. Canada‘‘s target is to reduce the Greenhouse Gas emissions by 6% below the 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The parties involved in the Kyoto Protocol met on February 16th 2005 to put the Kyoto Protocol into force. Kyoto Protocol was ratified by Canada in 2002 (Source Info).



The products we consume generate greenhouse gas emissions at almost all stages, from extracting and processing resources for raw materials, to the energy required in manufacturing, to the methane and carbon dioxide released when waste decomposes in landfills.



It’s estimated that for every can of garbage we take to the curb, another 71 garbage cans of waste are created in mining, logging, agriculture, oil and gas exploration, and the industrial processes that contribute to those finished products and their packaging (source: Grassroots Recycling Network)

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Waste management poses challenges, but could unlock major environmental and economic gains

Every day, the city of Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest metropolises in the Southern Hemisphere, generates 17,000 tonnes of waste, ranging from large industrial debris to candy wrappers bought innocently at newspaper stands. While this waste presents a serious and urgent environmental challenge, it also fuels an increasingly significant portion of the economy, with benefits extending beyond financial gains. - When we look at developed European countries, many are already recycling between 40% and 50%, with some reaching 60%. From an economic standpoint, both recyclable materials and organic waste hold tremendous value - stated Adalberto Maluf, National Secretary for Environment and Environmental Quality at the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), during the Methane Forum: Climate Emergency Brake, at the Rio Nature and Climate Week. Citing a 2025 report, Maluf mentioned that Brazil literally throws away R$27 billion annually, while municipalities spend significantly more - R$45 billion - managing all this waste, often overlooking the environmental impact or economic potential buried in landfills and dumps. - We spend R$45 billion to collect and dispose of waste in landfills, yet we manage to recycle less than a third of the potential. I believe it will be necessary to review contracts, create performance-based remuneration mechanisms, and pay for both effectively sorted materials and those diverted from landfills - he added. According to the IBGE, 60.5% of Brazilian municipalities adopt some form of selective waste collection, and several initiatives serve as examples of how to manage city waste. In his panel presentation, Bernardo Ornelas, Project Coordinator at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Urban Cleaning Company (Comlurb), highlighted Ecoparque do Caju, a national benchmark in waste management and recycling. There, received materials are sorted and can be used for biogas production, organic compounds for urban gardens, or human consumption, in the case of still...