Enhanced Recycling

Introduction to Enhanced Recycling projects

Government of Canada Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change, Minerals and Metals Program

Introduction

According to Statistics Canada,¹ Canadians generate about 30 Mt of waste annually, almost 24 Mt (78%) of which are discarded. These materials or, more accurately, these resources represent missed opportunities to create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, stimulate innovation, and conserve natural resources. Because waste generation is expected to follow the same trend as population and economic growth, Canadians will see disposal tonnages increase unless resource recovery is made a national priority. Enhanced recovery also offers the opportunity to benefit the Canadian economy, as evidenced by the fact that global demand for secondary materials is increasing. Today, more than half of the total global metal feedstock is recycled material.

Enhanced Recycling is a five-year (April 2001-March 2006), $3.4 million component of the Minerals and Metals Program of the Government of Canada Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change. The objective of the Enhanced Recycling Program is to increase the recycling of aluminum by 100 000 tonnes per year (t/y) by 2010, and of steel by 200 000 t/y by 2010, yielding total GHG reductions of 700 000 t/y of CO₂ equivalent.

In 2000, Canada's GHG emissions totaled approximately 726 Mt of CO₂ equivalent, 80% of which can be attributed to the use and production of energy. The production of minerals and metals is very energy intensive and certain processes can also release large quantities of GHGs that are not related to energy use. Thus, displacing primary inputs with recycled materials greatly reduces the energy and process emissions associated with minerals and metals production.

Two studies supported by another component of the Minerals and Metals Program of Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change and Environment Canada illustrate the enormous potential energy savings that can be realized through recycling. Figure 1 shows that the energy requirements of producing materials from primary ("new") feedstock far exceed those for recycling (producing the same materials from secondary resources). The data presented in Figure 1 are provisional since both further study and peer review are required to validate the assumptions and methodology used to develop these energy requirements.

The Enhanced Recycling Program is designed to stimulate recycling activities within Canada by seeking like-minded partners to participate in projects that take current recycling activities to higher levels. Through national consultations, workshops and seminars, the program has raised the awareness of key issues that currently are limiting sustainable recovery efforts. Through strong partnerships, the program has developed projects that strive for higher recovery rates across targeted product streams and sectors of the economy.

The Enhanced Recycling Program seeks to implement economically viable recovery systems (a departure from traditional waste management thinking) that can be attained while meeting key environmental and social objectives such as reduced GHG emissions and increased employment. The other side of the equation that needs to be addressed is the "true" cost of current waste disposal activities, including environmental and social impacts.

The main activities and outputs of the Enhanced Recycling Program are:

Identification of supportive policies and economic environments that advance recovery activities;
Formation of a multi-stakeholder national advisory committee with representatives from all levels of government, industry and non-government organizations (NGOs);
Analysis and development of options for resolving infrastructure issues for identified end-of-life products;
Improvement of statistics, information and data collection on recycling activities;
Analysis of cost structures and identification of the benefits of recycling;
Contribution to the strengthening of cost-effective technologies, tools and knowledge of the resource recovery sector;
Enhancement of communications to promote increased recovery; and
Facilitation of increased awareness, engagement and cooperative partnerships.

By developing new approaches and improving upon the existing recycling infrastructure, practices and policies, the potential to recycle all materials will increase. The scope of the Enhanced Recycling Program has therefore been extended beyond minerals and metals to include other associated and valuable secondary resources. Increased recovery activity will result in increased material supply for industry with commensurate benefits.

Program Performance to Date

The Enhanced Recycling Program has been critical in raising awareness of the efficiencies realized from reducing material and energy wastes throughout the product life cycle. Since the start of the program, over 30 projects have either been completed or are in progress. All projects are cost shared with multiple partners and the program is running at an average leverage of 60%.

Energy Requirements for Primary vs. Secondary Feedstock

Improving Information and Data Sets

One of the Enhanced Recycling projects undertaken by Natural Resources Canada is assembling recycling data that quantify the flow of discarded recyclable materials in Canada. In March 2004, the Issues in Waste Measurement Workshop was held in Alberta with provincial, industrial and some key municipal partners to initiate the development of a consistent approach to data collection and measurement, which will be used to form a national repository on recycling activities.

Recovery Initiatives

A number of Enhanced Recycling projects that are intended to augment current collection infrastructure and increase the level of material recovery in Canada include:

A guidance document and toolbox developed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to assist municipalities in enhancing their collection systems;²
A pilot project involving territorial, provincial, first nation and industrial partners to recover metal scrap from northern communities; and
A pilot project to assess the feasibility of collecting and processing a wide range of residential scrap metal within the blue box (curbside collection) system in an Ontario municipality.

Identifying Technology Gaps

Prior to the commencement of the Enhanced Recycling Program, Natural Resources Canada organized a Technology Gaps Recycling Workshop that focused on four key sectors: automobile, construction, electro-plating and electronics.³ Under the Enhanced Recycling Program, results from the workshop have been used to carry out further work within the electronic products sector. This work is the basis for an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime for Canada. In addition, discussions have been scheduled with the electro-plating industry to explore ways in which to increase the recovery of nonferrous metals from plating sludge.

Program Communications

Since the start of the program, the need to establish a good communications strategy has led to the development of a national partnership approach. In this regard, three key initiatives have successfully promoted the program:

A National Advisory Committee comprising stakeholders from all levels of government, industry associations and NGOs was formed. This committee provides regional and sectoral perspectives on resource recovery issues and, owing to their expertise and hands-on involvement in relevant industries, are often looked to as the originators of new work in line with the Enhanced Recycling strategic plan.
A series of Canada-wide consultations during the period April to June 2002 discussed national approaches to enhanced resource recovery and recycling practices. Two consultation findings were: (1) the regions like the idea of a strong federal presence in this area, and (2) all levels of government have a significant role to play in taking current waste management practices beyond the status quo.
Support has been provided to regional recycling councils to promote the program and showcase the links between GHG emission reductions and recycling. Enhanced Recycling Program representatives made presentations at regional workshops and conferences across Canada in 2003 and 2004.

Lessons Learned

While many Enhanced Recycling projects are still under way, preliminary findings have emerged that are of considerable importance in developing a national resource recovery strategy. A survey of current policies and programs aimed at increasing the recycling of minerals and metals being discarded makes the following key observations:

Tremendous opportunity exists for increased resource recovery activity. Priority in the development of new programs should be given to materials of high volume (economies of scale) or environmental risk (pollution prevention).
Source separation at the point of generation provides the highest-value materials and least residuals (compared to mixed waste processing, for example).
Increased recycling activity appears to be driven by regulatory mechanisms or economic incentives. Government could implement fiscal and regulatory policies that support recovery operations and enhance economic viability.
Higher levels of technology are required to effectively recycle multi-material products; however, more emphasis on "design for environment" is needed to facilitate the recovery of all materials and products at the end of their life cycle.
Where appropriate, Extended Producer Responsibility programs should be designed with integrated funding mechanisms that provide long-term financial sustainability. Such programs should ensure a "level playing field" approach to the implementation of policies and programs so that the market conditions are not distorted.
Since many of the resource recovery challenges are common in the provinces and territories, there is widespread interest in cooperating to develop solutions that will work. Where programs are readily transferable, replicating successes between jurisdictions will be more effective than designing programs from scratch.

Intended Outcomes

The intermediate outcome of the Enhanced Recycling Program will be an extensive network of well-informed decision-makers who share information and best practices. The long-term outcome will be an enhanced Canadian recycling infrastructure leading to substantially increased recycling of metals and associated materials, with a consequent reduction in GHG emissions.

Next Steps

The Enhanced Recycling Program and its partners are helping to articulate a national resource recovery strategy that will guide and foster collective action across the country. One of the end results will be the positioning of Canada as a competitive country for recycling expertise, products and materials. But, further work is required. Two other key areas for continued study are: (1) material composition analyses for identification of the types and quantities of materials found in white goods and electronic products; and (2) the development of a comprehensive inventory of resource recovery technologies in Canada.

Introduction to Enhanced Recycling projects

This part of the Recycling in Canada web site contains the Enhanced Recycling project summaries as well as full reports or related links. For ease of browsing, the projects are divided into seven groups as follows:

Note to Readers
The intent of this document is to provide general information and to elicit discussion. It is not intended as a reference, guide or suggestion to be used in trading, investment, or other commercial activities. The author and Natural Resources Canada make no warranty of any kind with respect to the content and accept no liability, either incidental, consequential, financial or otherwise, arising from the use of this document.

¹ Statistics Canada, Waste Management Industry Survey Business and Government Sectors 2002, catalogue no. 16F0023XIE.

² See http://kn.fcm.ca/ev.php?URL_ID=5920&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_ SECTION=201&reload=1086121488.

³ See www.recycle.nrcan.gc.ca/technology_e.htm for the workshop report.