For the past three months, we've been bringing you articles, videos and roundtables on plastics, packaging and creating a circular economy for plastic waste. In case you missed them, here are just a few of the articles looking at plastic waste in Canada, and how it relates to the food and beverage industry.
This article originally appeared on YODL on August 2, 2022.Explained: Canada's Plastics Problem
What is it?
Canadians throw away a shocking 4.4 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but only about eight per cent of that is recycled. Instead, roughly 91 per cent of plastic waste ends up as landfill, while about one per cent ends up as water and environmental pollution. Like other sectors, the food industry relies on plastic, in many different forms, for a variety of uses, from component parts in machinery, to single-use testing products, through to primary and secondary packaging, and end user products such as bags, straws and utensils.
Now consumers and government are calling on food manufacturers, grocers and foodservice operators to help cut plastic waste by eliminating single-use plastics and unnecessary plastic packaging when safe to do so.
Why you should care
The federal government has committed to reaching a goal of zero plastic waste by 2030, beginning by banning single-use plastics. The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations come into effect beginning in December 2022, with staggered deadlines until June 2024, and will prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of six single-use plastic items: plastic checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware containing problematic plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws (single-use plastic flexible straws can remain available, under certain conditions, for people who need them).
Where to start
For food industry operators unsure of how to begin the process of moving away from single-use plastic products, the federal government has developed Guidance for selecting alternatives to the single-use plastics in the proposed Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations.
In addition, to help address concerns around recycling programs, the government has launched two consultations to develop rules for recyclability and compostability labelling, and to establish a federal plastics registry for producers of plastic products.
This article originally appeared on YODL on August 3, 2022.
Explained: The Canada Plastics Pact
What is it?
The Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) is an independent, not-for-profit organization working with Canadian businesses, policymakers, associations and NGOs to create a circular economy for plastic packaging by 2030. It’s part of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact Network which connects initiatives around the world in an aligned response to plastic waste and pollution.
By working with diverse companies and experts in the plastics value chain, the CPP hopes to help businesses rethink how plastic packaging is designed, used and reused.
The CPP’s mandate is to:
- Focus on the root causes of plastics pollution;
- Work collaboratively across the supply value chain to ensure industries remove plastic waste system wide;
- Mobilize and align stakeholders at the local, national and global level to work toward a common vision; and
- Harness and amplify skills, expertise and leadership among stakeholders while fostering innovation and solutions.
Why you should care
Canada has committed to removing plastic waste and pollution from our landfills, water, and environment, while moving toward a circular economy for plastic. As well as drastically reducing plastic waste and pollution, the CPP estimates that a circular economy would save up to $500 million annually, create tens of thousands of jobs, and substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions. And with the ban on single-use plastics coming into effect beginning by December 2022, food industry operators should already be looking at how to eliminate plastic waste in their businesses.
Moving away from plastic packaging
To help companies adjust their packaging and work towards a circular economy for plastics, in April 2022 the CPP introduced the Golden Design Rules for plastics packaging and a microsite offering context-specific guidance tailored to Canadian businesses. The rules offer global standards aligned with guidelines and targets laid out in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
In July 2022, the CPP published its 2020 Baseline Report outlining the organization’s targets and plans for the next three years. They include:
- Supporting innovation on plastic packaging that can be safety reused, recycled or composted;
- Ensuring at least 50 per cent of plastic packaging is recycled or composted by 2025;
- Creating a list of problematic packaging and taking measures to eliminate them by 2025; and
- Ensuring an average of at least 30 per cent recycled content in all plastic packaging by 2025.
This article originally appeared on YODL on September 7, 2022.Explained: Packaging and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
What is it?
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an initiative that encourages manufacturers to consider a product’s entire life cycle, including end use, in its original design. This way the product can be designed to minimize its environmental impact. First introduced in Sweden in 1990, the policy shifts financial and operational responsibility for end-of-life management to the product manufacturer, who must pay for that product’s reuse, recycling or disposal.
EPR programs involve government working with manufacturers, and vary according to the recycling and waste programs available, as well as set standards and performance agreements. While they can be industry-led and voluntary, governments may legislate programs when a waste stream is too costly for producers or recycling companies to voluntarily recover products. EPR programs can include consumer initiatives such as deposit returns, fees or other incentives, and voluntary initiatives like industry or company targets, and consumer education and awareness.
Why you should care
The Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility was introduced in 2009, and since then more provincial, territorial and municipal governments have moved towards EPR models. According to the Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance’s 2020 report Canada’s Extended Producer Responsibility Programs: An Overview, EPR is essential to creating a circular economy for waste.
EPR programs vary across the country, from full producer responsibility in B.C. and Quebec, to producers paying 75 per cent of end-of-life management costs in Saskatchewan, 80 per cent in Manitoba and 50 per cent in Ontario (although Ontario recently announced a major expansion to its Blue Box recycling program, eventually making producers of products and packaging fully responsible for product life cycle by 2025).
Next Steps
The federal government offers a list of recycling programs for different consumer products, including beverage containers, plastic bags and packaging, as well as a list of programs by region. Industry associations such as PAC Global also offer resources and support for member companies working to design products with end of life planning in mind.
This article originally appeared on YODL on October 5, 2022.
Explained: Compostable and Biodegradable Plastics
When the federal government published the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations in June 2022, some food retailers and producers were surprised to learn that the incoming ban on single-use plastic (SUP) products will extend to compostable plastic bags and those made with oxo-degradable plastic.
Compostable and biodegradable plastic have been touted as an eco-friendly solution for food operators and grocers moving away from SUP bags and utensils. But there’s still confusion over the terms and how this type of plastic affects the environment.
What is it?
The terms compostable, oxo-biodegradable (which break down in the air) and biodegradable plastic refer to plastic products formed by combining bio-additives such as plant starch with polyethylene, so that it “breaks down.” While most are bio-based, some are still fossil-fuel based, for example oxo-biodegradable plastics are made from oil refining waste.
Biodegradable products should eventually break down into their natural state, while products labelled as compostable should completely degrade in compost in a reasonable amount of time. However, the terms are misleading as these plastic products do not degrade the same way as natural materials. Instead, says Michelle Saunders, vice president of Sustainability for Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, these products are designed to degrade to a set standard or speed, and they still leach chemicals into the environment. Bio-based products made from plants should also be accredited through third-party field tests showing that the product breaks down in the earth.
Why you should care
The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations are intended to divert plastic waste from becoming pollution by banning the manufacture, import and sale of six types of SUPs. That includes checkout bags “made entirely or in part from plastic, that is formed in the shape of a bag that is designed to carry purchased goods from a business,” and whose fabric will break or tear if used to carry 10 kg over a distance of 53 m 100 times, or washed in accordance with the washing procedures specified for a single domestic wash in the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO 6330.” The Regulations also include single-use plastic cutlery made entirely or in part from plastic, that is formed in the shape of a fork, knife, spoon, spork or chopstick.” Utensils that “change their physical properties after being run through an electrically operated household dishwasher 100 times” will also be banned.
The regulations banning SUP checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks, and straws come into effect over the next three years: for manufacture and import on December 20, 2022, for sale on December 20, 2023, and for export on December 20, 2025.
Click here for more about the technical requirements under the Regulations.
This article originally appeared on YODL on October 6, 2022.
Et si nous donnions une seconde chance au plastique?
Nous en avons beaucoup parlé sur YODL dans les dernières semaines : les emballages en plastique sont un problème important pour l’environnement, notamment parce qu’ils sont presque éternels. Alors que de nombreuses entreprises travaillent d’arrache-pied à trouver des solutions de remplacement à ce matériau quasi parfait pour les aliments, d’autres recherchent plutôt des façons de le rendre plus durable.
Interrogé récemment sur l’avenir du plastique dans les emballages alimentaires, Simon Chrétien, Directeur général d’Alliance Polymères Québec est clair : Le plastique est une matière incontournable pour l’industrie alimentaire qui lui rend et lui rendra encore plus dans le futur de grands services. L’enjeu est d’assurer un approvisionnement intelligent basé sur une approche d’écoconception associée à une filière de récupération efficace, donc une bonne gestion de fin de vie des produits.
Et cette filière de récupération et de revalorisation est justement en train de se mettre en place. L’exemple le plus connu est sans doute celui de Loop Industries, une entreprise fondée au Québec en 2014 ayant pour mission d’accélérer la transition vers une économie circulaire des plastiques. Les experts de Loop Industries ont mis au point une technologie novatrice permettant de décomposer le plastique PET et les fibres de polyester en leurs éléments de base pour ensuite recréer une matière vierge, et donc sans aucune perte de qualité. En septembre 2021, Evian annonçait le lancement d’un prototype de bouteille de plastique fabriqué à partir de la technologie de Loop Industries, et plus récemment Loop annonçait un contrat d’approvisionnement commercial avec Danone et la construction d’une usine en Europe. On peut donc s’attendre à voir apparaitre des emballages de plastique identifiés « Loop » prochainement!
Un autre angle de recherche qui bouillonne d’innovations est celui de rendre les emballages plastiques plus faciles à recycler. De la création des résines à la conception des emballages, en passant par la gestion des étiquettes et le tri des matières usées, tous les aspects des emballages plastique sont à l’étude et font l’objet de projets de recherche partout dans le monde.
Au Canada seulement, l’industrie du plastique est un contributeur important à l’économie locale avec des revenus annuels de près de 29 milliards de dollars. La division des plastiques de l’Association canadienne de l’industrie de la chimie est particulièrement active en recherche et développement d’innovations pour rendre les emballages plastiques durables. Nous nous entretiendrons avec leur Vice-présidente exécutive, Mme Isabelle Des Chênes, la semaine prochaine. Soyez des nôtres pour en apprendre plus sur l’avenir du plastique dans les emballages alimentaires!
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