An audit released Tuesday shows Montreal is far from reaching its 2030 goal to limit landfill disposal to 15 percent of total waste, with the majority of household trash still being sent to landfills.
The city’s auditor general conducted the review and found that most residential waste continues to end up in landfill sites, indicating a substantial gap between current practices and the target set by municipal officials.
Montreal’s waste‑reduction plan calls for landfill contributions to drop to 15 percent by the year 2030, a benchmark that now appears unlikely to be met with less than four years remaining in the timeframe.
City officials have previously promoted recycling and composting programs as the primary mechanisms for achieving the reduction, but the audit underscores that implementation has not yet produced the expected shift away from landfill reliance.
If the current trajectory persists, Montreal will need to accelerate waste‑diversion efforts to avoid falling short of its environmental commitment before the 2030 deadline.
The audit’s findings arrive as Montreal continues to expand its curb‑side collection services and public education campaigns, yet the data show that these measures have not yet translated into a measurable decrease in landfill volumes.
Stakeholders in the waste‑management sector will likely review the audit to identify gaps in recycling participation, organic‑waste processing and enforcement of existing regulations, though no specific corrective actions have been outlined in the report.
With the 2030 deadline approaching, municipal leaders are expected to present updated strategies to the council later this year, aiming to align future waste‑diversion rates with the 15‑percent landfill ceiling.