Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada Indice de progr

1
Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic CanadaIndice
de progrès véritable - Atlantique The Business
Case for Waste ReductionWaste Reduction Week
Clean Nova Scotia Breakfast with Minister
Halifax, 20 October, 2004
2
Waste and Sustainability

• How we manage waste is a significant indicator of
  community sustainability
• Capitalizing on use and reuse of waste as a
  resource is a key component of the efficient use
  of natural resources
• Resource conservation, materials efficiency,
  waste prevention, reuse, and recycling are all
  integral components of a sustainable economy

3
GDP Waste

• Economic growth indicators do not place a value
  on reduced resource extraction and energy use,
  decreased landfill emissions and leachate
  contamination, or improving the quality of our
  air, water, and natural environment
• As long as economic growth measures remain the
  primary benchmark of wellbeing and prosperity,
  waste diversion will be seen as a cost and not as
  the investment that it is

4
GPI Waste

• The GPI recognizes resource extraction, resource
  use, and spending to compensate for environmental
  damage as costs rather than gains to the economy
• The GPI counts the value of what remains in our
  forests, oceans and other resources, not just
  what we extract from them, and so recognizes
  waste reduction initiatives as gains rather than
  costs to the economy

5
Can we do it?Percentage Waste Diversion in Nova
Scotia
6
Competitiveness and Genuine Progress
7
(No Transcript)
8
The Nova Scotia GPISolid Waste-Resource Accounts

• Are the costs and benefits of the Nova Scotia
  solid waste resource system worth the investment?
  
• The GPI Atlantic Solid Waste-Resource report
  calculates for the first time the marginal
  economic, social and environmental costs and
  benefits of solid waste-resource management in
  Nova Scotia

9

• The report compares the operating and amortized
  capital costs of the provinces solid
  waste-resource system in the 1996-97 fiscal year
  (April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997) and the full
  costs of the solid waste-resource system in the
  2000-2001 fiscal year
• This is the first detailed independent evaluation
  of the Nova Scotia solid waste-resource system
  and the first Canadian evaluation of a solid
  waste system using the full-cost accounting
  principles of the GPI

10
Full Cost-Benefit Analysis Components Costs

• Operating and amortized capital costs (including
  curbside pickup)
• Additional time of some citizens
• Nuisance (handling organic waste)
• Stewardship program costs
• HHW, beverage container recycling, used tire
  program costs
• RRFB admin and operating costs

11
Full CBA Analysis Benefits

• Greenhouse gas and air pollutant emission
  reductions
• Extended landfill life
• Energy savings from recycling
• Direct and indirect employment (part)
• RRFB diversion credits, programs
• Avoided siting and liability costs
• Export revenue from waste-resource goods and
  services
• Additional Tourism

12
Intangible Benefits

• Indicators excluded from analysis and therefore
  not explicitly monetized
• Aesthetic
• Public health costs from pollutants emitted from
  extraction of virgin materials for manufacturing
• Odours and noise
• Social values such as health
• Community pride (perception/self-image) and
  collective and community values

13
Intangible Benefits ctd.

• Wildlife/nature (greater access to unspoiled,
  safe parklands and preserves)
• Biodiversity
• Reduced litter
• All above excluded from CBA due to challenges of
  assigning monetary value
• Yet value of these benefits should be acknowledged

14
Calculating Value System Costs

• Cost-benefit assessment compares the base case
  costs (business as usual costs prior to the
  inception of the new strategy) with a full cost
  accounting assessment of the 2000-01 solid
  waste-resource system
• FCA analysis determines the marginal costs and
  benefits between the 1996-97 fiscal year solid
  waste-resource system and the 2000-01 fiscal year
  solid waste resource system

15
Results

• Implementation of the Solid Waste-Resource
  Strategy led to an increase in operating and
  amortized costs from 48.6 million (53/capita)
  in the 1996-97 fiscal year to 72.5 million
  (77/capita) in the 2000-01 fiscal year.
• An increased cost of 24 million (25/capita) for
  implementing the changes

16
Results

• The new NS solid waste-resource system in 2000-01
  produced net savings of at least 31.2 million,
  when compared to the old 1996-97 solid
  waste-resource system
• This translates into savings of 33 for each Nova
  Scotian, versus a cost of 25 as suggested when
  comparing strictly the operating and amortized
  capital costs of the two systems

17
Benefits

• Total benefits of 2000-01 system range from 79
  million to 221 million 84-236 pp, incl
• 3.3 - 84.3 million in GHG emission reductions
• 9 - 67 million in air pollutant reductions
• 18.8 million in extended landfill life
• 28.6 million in energy savings from recycling
• 6.5 - 8.9 million in employment benefits
• 1.2 - 1.9 million in avoided liability costs
• 1.1 - 1.7 million in export revenue of goods
  and services
• 187,000 in additional tourism

18
Energy savings per tonne of waste recycled
19
Costs

• Total costs of 2000-01 solid waste-resource
  system were 96.6-102.7 million
• 72.4 m. in operating and amortized capital costs
• 14.3 m. for beverage container recycling prog.
• 2.7 million for used tire management program
• 1.6 million in RRFB operating and admin costs
• 5 - 9.5 million to increase participation
• 220,000 - 1.8 million in nuisance costs

20
Conclusions

• 1995 NS Solid Waste-Resource Strategy has led to
  a considerable net benefit, both in monetary and
  non-monetary terms
• 1) The solid waste-resource system in 2000-01,
  despite increased operating and amortized capital
  costs, provided a net savings of between 31
  million and 167.7 million compared to the
  operating and amortized capital costs of the old
  system

21
Conclusions

• 2) Nova Scotia is a leader both internationally
  and nationally in solid waste diversion.
• 3) The accessibility, comprehensiveness, and
  levels of waste being composted and recycled have
  all improved since the introduction of the Solid
  Waste-Resource Strategy.

22
Genuine Progress

• Access to curbside recycling in Nova Scotia
  jumped from less than 5 in 1989 to 99 today
• 76 of residents now have access to curbside
  organics pickup
• Both are by far the highest rates in the country

23
Access to curbside recycling, NS 1987-2001
24
Comparisons

• On a per capita basis, Nova Scotia disposes of
  39 less waste than Canadian average
• HRM has the highest waste diversion rate of any
  municipality in Canada twice the average.
• Nova Scotias overall waste diversion rate of 46
  is also higher than any industrialised country.
• Nova Scotia's high diversion rate is due in large
  part to its composting system.

25
Organics Diversion
26
Challenges

• Back-sliding NS 1989 3 diversion 2000
  50 2003 46
• HRM decreased from around 50 to 47.
• Inadequacy of systems for household hazardous
  waste and construction and demolition waste
  (25-30 of the waste stream)
• Inadequate waste diversion in apartment buildings
  and businesses
• Need expansion of waste stewardship agreements
  with businesses

27
(No Transcript)
28
What can businesses do?

• Sydney Olympics demonstrated that compostable
  coffee cups can be successfully used on very
  large scale. In NS, Irving Oil, Just Us use
  biodegradable coffee cups. But biggest purveyors
  of coffee in Nova Scotia still dont use
  recyclable or compostable coffee cups.  
• Litter study found Tim Hortons and MacDonalds
  alone account for one-third of all litter in NS
  22 and 10.1 resp. Efforts by the NS DEL to
  encourage Tim Hortons to use compostable or
  recyclable coffee cups are ongoing

29
In the long term

• If we really want to reduce waste further, we
  need to reduce the amount of waste we generate in
  the first place by re-examining consumption
  habits and reducing unnecessary packaging.
• A Zero Waste Council a good first step with
  business, NGOs, government

30

How we manage our waste affects the kind of Nova
Scotia we leave our children?
31
Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic CanadaIndice
de progrès véritable - Atlantique

• www.gpiatlantic.org