Regulating Methane Emissions from Landfills

Summary#

The government published the proposed Regulations Respecting the Reduction in the Release of Methane (Waste Sector) (a proposal under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999) on June 29, 2024. The rules would require many large landfills that accept municipal solid waste to monitor and limit methane at the surface, find and fix leaks, and recover or destroy recovered landfill gas. The proposal is open for comment for 60 days after publication.

What it does#

• Sets which landfills are in scope:
  • Landfills that accepted any municipal solid waste after January 1, 2010 and have more than 450,000 tonnes of waste-in-place.
  • Or landfills that accept more than 10,000 tonnes in any year after the rules come into force and have more than 100,000 tonnes of waste-in-place.
• Uses modelled methane generation to trigger further obligations:
  • Landfills with annual methane generation of 1,000 tonnes or more face earlier compliance dates.
  • Landfills with annual methane generation between 664 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes face later compliance dates.
• Staggers when main obligations begin:
  • Some obligations start on January 1, 2027, wider obligations on January 1, 2029, and for smaller-but-still-significant sites on January 1, 2033.
• Requires active monitoring and limits:
  • Surface methane must not exceed 500 ppmv at any single location, and zone-average methane must be below 25 ppmv in zones up to 4,500 m2.
  • Surface and leak monitoring generally three times per year. Wellfield vacuum monitoring monthly.
  • Methane leaks (≥ 500 ppmv) must be repaired quickly (action within 30 days, fix within 90 days) and reported if not fixed.
• Controls and destruction of recovered gas:
  • Recovered gas must be sent to flares or energy systems, or other systems with at least 98% methane destruction efficiency.
  • Venting is limited to safety, maintenance, or locations where methane in vented gas is under 25% (verified over time).
• Reporting and record-keeping:
  • Annual reports to the Minister and multi-year record retention are required.
• Provides exit tests:
  • Closed sites with low ongoing methane or a clean record of surface monitoring can be released from most obligations.

Who's affected#

• Primary: owners and operators of larger municipal solid waste landfills (public and private) that meet the waste-in-place or annual disposal thresholds.
  • The department estimates about 179 landfills would need to do a methane-generation assessment and roughly 146 would likely face the monitoring and control obligations.
• Municipal governments and private waste companies that run those landfills. Households and businesses that pay tipping fees may see some cost pass-through.
• Some provinces already have similar rules — British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec — and the federal rules may overlap or be coordinated with provincial systems.
• Indigenous community landfills are unlikely to meet the thresholds and so are not expected to be regulated, though the proposal notes available funding through Indigenous Services Canada programs to improve local waste infrastructure.
• Landfills that currently earn federal offset credits may lose eligibility for new federal offsets once regulated (most such changes take effect by January 1, 2029, and fully by January 1, 2033).

Why it matters#

• Climate impact: The analysis estimates the proposal would cut landfill methane by about 107 Mt CO2e from 2025 to 2040, helping meet Canada’s 2030 methane and greenhouse-gas goals. Methane reductions have strong near-term climate benefits because methane is a potent, short-lived greenhouse gas.
• Economic trade-offs: The government estimates total present-value compliance costs of about $581 million (2025–2040) and monetized climate benefits of roughly $11.2 billion, for an estimated net benefit of $10.6 billion and an average cost of about $5 per tonne CO2e avoided.
• Local effects: Landfill operators will likely install or expand gas collection systems, do more frequent monitoring, and repair leaks faster. Those costs could be passed to users. The analysis translates compliance into about $2 per tonne of future waste disposed at regulated landfills — roughly 1.5%–4% of typical tipping fees.
• Practical changes for operators and nearby communities:
  • More routine surface monitoring (including possible drone surveys).
  • Faster repair of leaks and clearer limits on when venting is allowed.
  • Smaller landfills are mostly excluded, and larger sites get phased-in time to install equipment.
• Uncertainty and choice: The document is a proposal (not final), contains technical and cost assumptions (for example about methane generation, monitoring methods and use of drone-based tools), and invites public and stakeholder feedback before any final rules are made.