Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) have released the final Landfill Methane Regulations (LMR), published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on December 31, 2025. These regulations aim to reduce methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills.
Landfills Required to Meet the New Requirements
The regulations apply only to large landfills that:
- Accepted any municipal solid waste after Jan 1, 2010, AND
- Either have >450,000 tonnes of waste in place, OR
- Accepted >20,000 tonnes in 2025 or later and have >200,000 tonnes in place.
Not included:
- Landfills that only contain hazardous waste, non-biodegradable (soil, rock, asphalt, concrete, etc.), forest‑products waste, or construction and demolition waste.
- A portion of landfill that is physically separate from the rest of the landfill, did not receive municipal solid waste after January 1, 2010, and is already permanently closed (under final cover).
Mandatory Methane Generation Assessments
Every regulated landfill must use ECCC’s Landfill Methane Modelling Tool and submit a detailed annual emission report to the Minister by June 1. The thresholds at which additional regulatory measures must be taken are stated to decrease over time. In practice this may mean that some municipal landfills do not require further action now, but will in the future.
Alignment with RMA’s 2023 Submission
RMA made a submission in 2023 outlining key recommendations for how federal landfill methane regulations should be designed to work for rural municipalities. Several elements in the final regulations align with what RMA proposed. Most notably, the regulations prioritize the largest emitters first through clear size and methane‑generation thresholds and phased implementation timelines. This approach mirrors RMA’s call for directing early requirements toward the landfills that can deliver the greatest emission reductions at the lowest cost, which is particularly important given the limited capacity of smaller rural sites.
The performance‑based structure of the regulations also offers some degree of flexibility, which aligns with RMA’s request to avoid a one size fitting all models. By focusing on emission outcomes rather than prescribing specific technologies, the framework gives operators more room to choose solutions that match their local circumstances.
RMA also recommended financial and capacity support to help rural municipalities meet new monitoring, reporting, and operational obligations. These requirements may pose challenges for smaller municipalities with limited administrative and technical resources. RMA encourages the federal government to develop dedicated funding and support mechanisms, and will continue advocating for tools that ensure rural operators are not disproportionately burdened by federal expectations.
Sahaj Kaur
Policy Advisor
780.721.1752
sahaj@rmalberta.com
Warren Noga
Manager of Policy and Research
825.319.2285
warren@rmalberta.com