Health experts and others are calling the Ford government’s approval of a major waste incinerator expansion in Brampton an assault on a community already choking on more than its share of pollution.
The provincial government gave the go-ahead last year to expand the Emerald Energy from Waste facility, 40 kilometres west of Toronto, increasing its incineration capacity by almost five times — to as much as 900,000 tonnes of garbage every year.
Once the expansion is complete, the facility would become one of the largest incinerators in North America, burning waste from across the Greater Toronto Area and potentially beyond.
The project still needs final technical approval before it can move ahead: an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA), which will review how the facility controls emissions, handles waste and ash and monitors and publicly reports pollution. Construction could begin as early as next fall.
Local politicians and environmentalists insist the expansion could push pollution beyond safe limits in an area already struggling with poor air quality.
The World Health Organization has linked uncontrolled incineration to cancer-causing pollutants and respiratory harm.
Gurpartap Singh Toor, a regional councillor representing Brampton, said the province is determined to ignore the risks.
“This is another example of the Ford government making it clear they do not care about the environment or the healthcare of the people,” Toor told Canada’s National Observer in an email response.
“This incinerator expansion will accept waste from across the province to be trucked into our city, burn it and pollute the air that the residents in our city will breathe.”
Toor also raised concerns about oversight, saying the company is largely responsible for monitoring and reporting its own emissions.
“The onus is on the incinerator operator to self-report its impact to the Ontario government,” he said. “This government has ignored all pleas from the public and pushed through with this expansion, which will only result in a worsening healthcare crisis.”
Joseph Lyng, general manager of Emerald Energy from Waste, said the company completed an environmental screening report and held four public open houses in 2024, adding that concerns raised by Peel Public Health were addressed through health risk and impact assessments reviewed by provincial environment ministry experts.
In an email, Lyng told Canada’s National Observer that the project is expected to operate for at least 30 years, diverting up to 27 million tonnes of waste from landfills, while creating up to 70 jobs and supporting local economic development.
In a report last year to the regional council, Peel Commissioner of Health Services Nancy Polsinelli said the project may exceed air pollutant limits and health benchmarks.
The report found when emissions from the facility are combined with existing industrial and transportation pollution, there is a risk of negative health outcomes including heart and lung impacts. It also said greenhouse gas emissions could increase by as much as six times.
The report says nearby residents already face higher rates of conditions such as heart disease, respiratory illness and diabetes, and could be disproportionately affected.
The environmental impact of the incinerator expansion is also raising serious concerns.
Despite a request last year from Peel Region and environmental advocates, the province did not require a full environmental assessment before giving its approval.
Instead, the province relied on a streamlined environmental screening process based largely on studies submitted by the company, a move critics say limits public scrutiny and avoids a full review of potential risks and alternatives.
Peter Tabuns, an Ontario MPP and NDP environment critic, said the lack of a full environmental assessment is a major concern.
“The reason you have environmental assessments is to identify potential problems and address them, or decide that a project can’t address them,” Tabuns told Canada’s National Observer. “Clearly, the Ford government is not interested in environmental problems, doesn’t want to know about them and doesn’t want to address them.”
Tabuns warned the decision could lead to increased air pollution, undermine recycling efforts and contribute to climate change.
“It’s bad news right across the spectrum,” he said.
Environmental groups echoed those concerns. Karen Wirsig, senior program manager for plastics at Environmental Defence, said bypassing a full environmental assessment shut the public out of a more thorough review.
“This is a massive project in a very populated area that already experiences poor air quality,” she said.
Wirsig also questioned the province’s broader strategy, arguing it is focusing on disposal rather than reduction.
“The alternatives to landfills and incinerators is we should be producing less waste,” she said. “Instead, this government appears focused on making it easier to burn or bury it.”
Ontario Environment Minister Todd McCarthy has previously noted the “potential for increased impacts to the environment and human health from the project,” and last year, listed a number of conditions, such as emissions controls and monitoring requirements, that Emerald still has to meet.
Lyng confirmed the project secured conditional approval last year, clearing the way for the next phase of technical approvals under the Environmental Protection Act, which the company expects to report on within the next eight to 10 weeks.
Ontario’s waste crunch
Ontario faces a growing garbage crunch, with landfill capacity projected to run out as early as 2034. A recent report found the province generated about 16.9 million tonnes of waste in 2024 with roughly 12.8 million tonnes sent to landfills.
Roughly one-third of the province’s waste is shipped to the United States which experts say is risky given trade tensions with the US.
Changes to recycling processes, including Blue Box recycling rules and the scrapping of a deposit-return system for non-alcoholic drink containers, have further strained diversion efforts.
The Ford government has faced criticism over how it is managing the problem.
The government has already exempted some large landfill projects from full environmental assessments and is proposing further changes for landfill expansions and increased waste intake.
Company pitches benefits
Emerald Energy from Waste has defended its incinerator expansion, saying it will provide a modern solution to waste management while generating electricity for tens of thousands of homes.
The company says it uses advanced modelling to ensure emissions meet provincial standards and argues the facility handles waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.
It also says the redevelopment would significantly increase energy output, from 10 megawatts to as much as 100 MW.
“It will also divert 30,000 trucks of waste travelling to southwestern Ontario each year, eliminating truck emissions, reducing traffic congestion and reducing the wear and tear on our highways,” Lyng said.
Some experts suggest while waste-to-energy incineration has historically been viewed negatively in Canada as dirty, inefficient and costly technology, modern systems used in Europe and Japan have changed that perception and are now widely used in dense urban centres.
But critics say incineration is not a long-term solution. Peel Public Health says expanding waste- burning could undermine efforts to build a circular economy focused on reducing waste, reusing materials and cutting pollution at the source.
Canada’s National Observer reached out to Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.