These stats are not a waste of your time: How do Canadians dispose of hazardous items?

Every two years, Statistics Canada surveys Canadian households on how they dispose of hazardous waste. Recently, we released 2021 numbers.

While the majority of households diverted such waste away from landfills, a considerable percentage still dumped it in the trash.

Batteries (excluding car batteries) were the most common hazardous waste item, present in two-thirds (66%) of Canadian households in 2021. Just over one in five (21%) of those households put them in the garbage, virtually unchanged from 2015. Nearly 6 in 10 (57%) took or sent them to a depot or drop-off centre, up slightly from 2015. Another 10% returned them to a supplier or retailer.

Over 3 in 10 (34%) Canadian households had leftover paint in 2021, down from nearly 4 in 10 (38%) in 2015. Of those households in 2021, more than three-quarters (77%) took or sent it to a depot or drop-off centre, up from 66% in 2015. Another 6% returned it to a retailer or supplier, while 3% put it in the garbage.

Similar practices were observed for proper disposal of unwanted engine oil or anti-freeze, which 15% of Canadian households had in 2021. Almost three-quarters (74%) of those households took or sent it to a depot or drop-off centre, 11% returned it to a supplier/retailer, and 3% did something else. However, almost no households put it in the garbage.

Roughly 4 in 10 households had expired medication to dispose of in 2021. Of those households, nearly 7 in 10 (69%) returned it to a supplier/retailer, including a pharmacy or doctor. Largely in line with previous years, 2% disposed of expired medication by pouring it down a sink or other type of drain in 2021.

Of the 12% of households that had medical sharps (such as needles), nearly 6 in 10 (57%) households returned them to a pharmacy or doctor, just over one-quarter (26%) used a disposal program, 4% took them to a depot/drop-off centre, and over 1 in 10 (13%) put them in the garbage.