Currently, the City sends the majority of its residual waste (garbage) to Green Lane Landfill located just outside of London, Ontario in the Township of Southwold. Green Lane’s neighbours include three First Nations communities: the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Munsee Delaware Nation and the Oneida Nation of the Thames. Based on current tonnage and waste volumes, Green Lane Landfill could reach full capacity in 2035.
Increased population, economic growth and housing commitments in Toronto mean that the amount of waste that will need to be managed will continue to grow. Even with the implementation of the City’s Long-term Waste Management Strategy and our ongoing waste reduction and diversion actions, planning for Toronto’s long-term waste disposal needs is required.
Long-term availability of landfill space across Ontario is also limited and is expected to reach full capacity within ten years. As the largest municipality in the province, the City needs to secure the best solutions to meet the needs of our growing population while mitigating unnecessary financial risk and environmental and social impacts. Some long-term options could take over a decade to secure due to regulatory compliance and permitting processes.
City Council approved the Residual Waste Management Work Plan (Work Plan) in June 2023. The Work Plan provides time to study, develop and operationalize short-, medium- and long-term options to manage Toronto’s residual waste. A Work Plan Update Report was presented to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in September 2025, including the spring 2025 consultation findings.
Some of the options that are currently being explored as part of the Work Plan are:
As the development of a new landfill is not feasible within the boundaries of Toronto, the City has begun a process to engage, and where there is interest, negotiate with existing private Ontario landfill owners to provide disposal services for Toronto’s residual waste, or to sell an existing private landfill to meet the City’s needs.
The City issued a Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) to municipalities in Ontario to identify their interest in accepting residual waste from the City, selling an existing public landfill to meet the City’s needs, hosting a new landfill or partnering with the City to expand their existing landfill. The REOI closed in June 2025 without receiving any interest from municipalities. The City will continue to be open to engage with municipalities who may be interested in partnering in the future.
The City conducted community consultations on the perception of energy-from-waste (incineration) as a potential option to manage residual waste. The consultation findings are available on the Waste Strategy Update page.
City staff will continue to research energy-from-waste technology and compare potentially feasible options through a triple-bottom-line evaluation, which will analyze social, environmental and economic considerations. City staff will report back to City Council before entering any procurement processes, negotiations or engagements related to the purchase or building of an energy-from-waste facility or partnering with an existing facility.
The City conducted a technical feasibility study to determine whether expansion of Green Lane Landfill is viable. While the study results confirmed that it is technically feasible, this option will need to be compared to all other options available to the City through a triple-bottom-line evaluation analyzing social, environmental and economic considerations.
Staff will report back to City Council with recommendations informed by the results of analysis related to the options above and seek direction prior to making any long-term decisions.