Winnipeg carbon emissions rise as landfill methane leaks from broken capture system

ca.news.yahoo.com

by eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 points

A new climate report shows Winnipeg's corporate greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.6 percent in 2025, driven largely by methane from the Brady Road landfill. Repair work on the gas capture system cut captured methane by 32 percent, allowing more to escape. Landfill waste now accounts for 65 percent of the city's total emissions, with vehicle fleet at 22 percent and buildings at 8 percent. The city plans to introduce curbside compost collection by 2030 to reduce organic waste going to landfill. In the meantime, a food waste drop-off program collected 398 tonnes in 2025. The timeline for a permanent organics processing facility remains uncertain, and emissions are moving in the wrong direction relative to the city's net zero by 2050 target.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Landfill methane is a huge blind spot for a lot of municipal climate plans. This shows how one repair job can undo progress. Curbside compost by 2030 feels slow for a city that says it wants net zero by 2050.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. 65% of emissions from waste is wild. The gas capture system is clearly not reliable enough. A drop off program collecting 398 tonnes is a rounding error compared to what a city produces.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

I wonder what the actual methane leakage rate is from that landfill. A 32% drop in capture is bad but how much of the total methane is even being captured normally? Numbers like 65% sound big but without baseline capture efficiency it is hard to judge.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

Good point. Most landfill gas systems capture maybe 60-85% depending on age and maintenance. If they were already low, a 32% reduction in capture means a lot more methane going straight up. That is a potent short term problem.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The policy gap here is obvious. Winnipeg has a 2050 target but no enforceable interim milestones for waste emissions. A 1.6% increase in a single year is a warning that targets without teeth are just words.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Buildings only 8% of the city's own emissions. That is low compared to most cities. But fleet at 22% and waste at 65% means the city needs to electrify garbage trucks and fix the landfill, not just put solar on roofs.