Landfill Methane Regulations
The Landfill Methane Regulations (the Regulations) apply to certain privately and municipally owned landfills that have received municipal solid waste.
Background
When organic waste – such as food, yard waste and paper products – is disposed in landfills, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. This process takes place over many years, which means that the methane generated in landfills today is the result of past decades of organic waste disposal. By installing landfill gas management systems, methane can be recovered before it can be emitted to the atmosphere. The recovered landfill gas is either flared (burned) or can be used to create low-carbon energy. The Regulations will reduce methane emissions from landfills through a performance-based approach that sets surface methane concentration limits and requires regular monitoring to confirm these limits are being met and to identify and repair methane leaks.
Overview
The Regulations apply to landfills that meet the following applicability criteria:
- disposed of any quantity of municipal solid waste after January 1, 2010, and have more than 450,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste-in-place or
- disposed of more than 20,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2025 or any subsequent calendar year and have more than 200,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste-in-place
The Regulations do not apply to landfills or distinct portions of a landfill that are under final cover and ceased to accept waste before January 1, 2010, or to landfills that have received only the following types of waste:
- hazardous waste
- non-biodegradable waste
- waste produced from forest products operations
- construction and demolition waste
Methane generation assessment
Landfills that meet the applicability criteria are required to calculate their annual methane generation using Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC’s) Landfill Methane Modelling Tool and submit a Methane Generation Assessment Report.
Open landfills that exceed 664 tonnes methane generation and closed landfills that exceed 1,000 tonnes methane generation have further compliance obligations under the Regulations.
Methane emissions control timelines and requirements
For landfills exceeding the methane generation thresholds, requirements to control methane will first apply in 2028 (for landfills that have 1,000 tonnes or more methane generation and have existing landfill gas recovery systems), 2029 (for landfills that have 1,000 tonnes or more methane generation and do not have existing systems) or 2035 (for landfills that have 664 tonnes or more but less than 1,000 tonnes methane generation).
Requirements include:
- Prohibition on venting landfill gas and requirement that recovered methane must be destroyed or used
- Limits on methane concentration at the surface of the landfill and regular monitoring to confirm these limits are met and conduct repairs where limits are exceeded
- Monitoring of equipment and wellfields to identify and repair methane leaks
Annual Report
An annual report is due June 1st of every year once methane control requirements begin.
Cessation of obligations
The Regulations remove methane emission control requirements for older portions of a landfill, portions containing only non-biodegradable or construction and demolition waste, or entire landfills with low amounts of methane generated or recovered. Demonstration of low surface methane concentrations must be made before the obligations cease to apply.
Guidance materials and supporting documents
Landfill Methane Modelling Tool: This spreadsheet-based tool must be used to determine methane generation under the Regulations.
Technical Guidance Document on Estimating, Measuring and Monitoring Landfill Methane: This document provides information on the Modelling Tool and on the methane monitoring methods required under the Regulations. This resource also contains information on emerging approaches to measuring and monitoring methane at landfills.
Request the Landfill Methane Modelling Tool and the Technical Guidance Document on Estimating, Measuring and Monitoring Landfill Methane (do not modify the email subject line).
Regulatory Services Platform
The Methane Generation Assessment Report and annual reports will be submitted to ECCC via the Regulatory Services Platform (RSP).
Engagement and consultation
Stakeholders, provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, industries, and non-governmental organizations were engaged throughout the regulatory development process to seek views on the design of the Regulations.
Discussion Paper (January 2022) – ECCC published a discussion paper titled Reducing methane emissions from Canada’s municipal solid waste landfills. A “What We Heard” report was published that summarized the input on the paper that ECCC received from interested parties.
Technical Working Group (September 2022 to April 2023) - A Technical Working Group was formed to support in-depth discussions on potential elements of federal regulations. A summary of Technical Working Group discussions is available upon request.
Proposed Regulatory Framework (April 2023) - A Proposed Regulatory Framework was published in April 2023 to seek feedback on potential requirements that could be included in the Regulations.
Proposed Regulations (June 2024) - On June 29, 2024, the Government of Canada published the proposed Regulations Respecting the Reduction in the Release of Methane (Waste Sector) in the Canada Gazette, Part I for a 60-day public comment period.
Related information
Contact information
For more information or to receive email notifications about the Landfill Methane Regulations, please contact us at: enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca