The Social Importance of Aggregates

Ontario’s population is growing by over 160,000 people per year. The per capita consumption of aggregates is between 12 and 14 tonnes per year. This means that an additional 2 million tonnes of aggregates may be required every year to keep up with the public demand for the resource.  There may be opportunities to reduce the demand by aggregate resource conservation efforts.

Public demand for aggregate is in the form of new roads, schools, hospitals, houses and businesses. There is also demand for aggregate resources by the manufacturing sector to produce steel, vinyl, glass, paint, paper, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, cement, insulation and landscaping products.

Ontario has also benefited socially from accessible aggregate resources, thereby providing affordable infrastructure and housing costs. The wise management of aggregate resources and balancing of resource interests will ensure a continued close to market supply.