Sustainable Waste Strategy

The City of Greater Sudbury invites residents to have a say on the Sustainable Waste Strategy that will guide how the City manages waste over the next 10 years.

The City is developing the strategy to improve its waste management programs and services. This is important to help optimize landfill space, achieve climate change goals, reduce and divert waste, improve convenience and operate cost effectively.

The strategy will identify options to advance the City’s environmental sustainability performance while providing quality services and working towards the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) goal of 90 per cent solid waste diversion by 2050.

Project Timeline

We are currently in Phase 3 of the project and have developed options for the future of waste management in Greater Sudbury. The options that we have identified aim to achieve the Sustainable Waste Strategy goals that were established during Phase 2 of this project.


Phase 1: Assessing the Current State

The diagram below is a high-level depiction of how waste is collected and treated in Greater Sudbury.

Phase 2: Envisioning the Future

The following statement communicates the vision for the Sustainable Waste Strategy:

As a community, we commit to being stewards of the land by taking progressive actions to manage our waste responsibly, extend the life of our landfills and preserve our shared environment for future generations.


Phase 3: Determine How

In the first survey, your input helped us understand what is working well and where there are opportunities for improvement with the current waste management system. We also asked about your priorities for the future of the waste management system. In the second survey, we shared the draft vision statement, guiding principles and evaluation criteria, and finalized them based on your input.

Using the feedback received in the first two surveys, a draft list of 18 options has been developed that will help move the City closer to its vision for the future of waste management system.

The Waste Hierarchy

We need your help!

Making sure waste ends up in the right spot starts in our homes and businesses. It takes all of us to make an impact. Your feedback is important to us as we work to reduce waste, improve waste programs and services, save landfill space and operate cost effectively.

The strategy will apply the waste hierarchy as depicted below. The waste hierarchy can help us think about the impacts of programs, policies, initiatives or processes by identifying whether their impacts contribute to outcomes at a higher or lower level of the hierarchy.


Refuse: To make choices that prevent the generation of waste.

Reduce: To lessen the amount of waste, for example by reusing products or materials.

Repair: To make materials last longer, which could include fixing pieces, replacing parts, remanufacturing, refurbishing.

Recycle: To collect, sort and sell materials to secondary markets so that they will be incorporated into new products or packaging.

Recover: To collect, treat and use materials from nature, such as using leaf and yard trimmings for regenerative purposes and recovering energy from landfill gas.

Dispose: To landfill or incinerate materials without opportunity for them to be repurposed.

The City of Greater Sudbury invites residents to have a say on the Sustainable Waste Strategy that will guide how the City manages waste over the next 10 years.

The City is developing the strategy to improve its waste management programs and services. This is important to help optimize landfill space, achieve climate change goals, reduce and divert waste, improve convenience and operate cost effectively.

The strategy will identify options to advance the City’s environmental sustainability performance while providing quality services and working towards the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) goal of 90 per cent solid waste diversion by 2050.

Project Timeline

We are currently in Phase 3 of the project and have developed options for the future of waste management in Greater Sudbury. The options that we have identified aim to achieve the Sustainable Waste Strategy goals that were established during Phase 2 of this project.


Phase 1: Assessing the Current State

The diagram below is a high-level depiction of how waste is collected and treated in Greater Sudbury.

Phase 2: Envisioning the Future

The following statement communicates the vision for the Sustainable Waste Strategy:

As a community, we commit to being stewards of the land by taking progressive actions to manage our waste responsibly, extend the life of our landfills and preserve our shared environment for future generations.


Phase 3: Determine How

In the first survey, your input helped us understand what is working well and where there are opportunities for improvement with the current waste management system. We also asked about your priorities for the future of the waste management system. In the second survey, we shared the draft vision statement, guiding principles and evaluation criteria, and finalized them based on your input.

Using the feedback received in the first two surveys, a draft list of 18 options has been developed that will help move the City closer to its vision for the future of waste management system.

The Waste Hierarchy

We need your help!

Making sure waste ends up in the right spot starts in our homes and businesses. It takes all of us to make an impact. Your feedback is important to us as we work to reduce waste, improve waste programs and services, save landfill space and operate cost effectively.

The strategy will apply the waste hierarchy as depicted below. The waste hierarchy can help us think about the impacts of programs, policies, initiatives or processes by identifying whether their impacts contribute to outcomes at a higher or lower level of the hierarchy.


Refuse: To make choices that prevent the generation of waste.

Reduce: To lessen the amount of waste, for example by reusing products or materials.

Repair: To make materials last longer, which could include fixing pieces, replacing parts, remanufacturing, refurbishing.

Recycle: To collect, sort and sell materials to secondary markets so that they will be incorporated into new products or packaging.

Recover: To collect, treat and use materials from nature, such as using leaf and yard trimmings for regenerative purposes and recovering energy from landfill gas.

Dispose: To landfill or incinerate materials without opportunity for them to be repurposed.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    The City of Greater Sudbury is developing a Sustainable Waste Strategy to guide how the City will manage waste (e.g., garbage, food waste, etc.) for the next 10 years.

    The goal of this strategy is to improve waste management programs and services. This is important to help optimize landfill space, achieve climate change goals, divert and reduce waste, improve convenience, and operate cost effectively.

    This is our third of four public surveys for the strategy. In the first survey, your input helped us develop the draft vision, guiding principles and evaluation criteria for the strategy. In the second survey, we shared the draft vision, guiding principles and evaluation criteria, and your input helped us finalize them. The project is now in Phase 3, and we are asking residents to provide input on options that could be included in the strategy.

    This survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.  As a thank you for completing the survey, enter to win a backyard composter. Please share it with your friends and family! Survey #3 will run from October 18 - November 7. 

    Take Survey
  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Let us know what you think of the Vision and Guiding Principles for the Sustainable Waste Strategy!

    Take Survey
  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.
    Take Survey
Page last updated: 14 Mar 2024, 02:37 PM