LANDFILL CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

LANDFILL CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS

LANDFILL CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS

8.    LANDFILL CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS

	December 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Balance, beginning of period	$	236.6	$	162.8
Acquisitions via business combinations		262.6		4.0
Adjustment related to prior year acquisitions		—		5.9
Provisions		266.0		78.7
Accretion		6.9		6.1
Expenditures		(21.7)		(15.3)
Changes in foreign exchange		(14.8)		(5.6)
Balance, end of period		735.6		236.6
Less: Current portion		(55.3)		(25.6)
	$	680.3	$	211.0

The present value of GFL’s future landfill closure and post-closure obligations have been estimated by management based on GFL’s cost, in today’s dollars, to settle closure and post-closure obligations at its landfills, projected timing of these expenditures and the application of discount and inflation rates. GFL used a risk-free discount rate of 1.21% in Canada and 1.65% in the United States as at December 31, 2020 (1.76% in Canada and 2.39% in the United States as at December 31, 2019) and an inflation rate of 1.60% in Canada and 1.74% in the United States (2.00% in Canada and 1.52% in the United States as at December 31, 2019) to calculate the present value of the landfill closure and post-closure obligations. Obligations acquired through business combinations are initially valued at fair value using a credit adjusted discount rate. Reducing the discount rate to the risk free rate resulted in a one-time increase to the liability of $231.7 million included in the provisions line item in the table above for the year ended December 31, 2020 ($nil for the year ended December 31, 2019).

The landfill closure and post-closure obligation matures as follows:

Less than 1 year	$	55.3
Between 1-2 years		38.0
Between 2-5 years		83.5
Over 5 years		558.8
	$	735.6

Funded landfill post-closure assets

GFL is required to deposit monies into a social utility trust for the purpose of settling post closure costs at the landfills it owns in Quebec. The funding amount is established by the Quebec Government based on each cubic meter of waste accepted and payment is due quarterly. Additionally, GFL is required to deposit funds in a trust for the payment of post-closure obligations related to a municipal solid waste landfill

located in Georgia. At December 31, 2020, included in other long-term assets are funded landfill post closure obligations, representing the fair value of legally restricted assets, totaling $19.3 million ($17.7 million as at December 31, 2019).