Solid waste affects people’s health and the environment surrounding them. Poorly man-aged solid waste accumulates in local bodies of water, oceans, and forests, degrading our ecosystems and negatively impacting human health. Therefore, appropriate management of solid waste is a particularly important public policy goal. This study examines the state and evolution of the generation and management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)—more commonly known as trash or garbage—in Canada over the past two decades, using official data and government reports.

Overall, as Canada’s population and economy grew between 2002 and 2018, so did total waste generation. Canadians generated 35.5 million tonnes of MSW in 2018—16 percent more than in 2002 when 30.7 million tonnes were generated. However, when we account for population and economic activity, Canadians are generating less waste over time—2 percent less on a per-capita basis and 23 percent less per unit of GDP in 2018 compared to 2002. The fact that Canada’s waste generation rate grew more slowly than its GDP from 2002 to 2018 suggests that Canada has partially decoupled waste genera-tion from economic growth.