Industry News

The Ford government will not bring in a deposit and return system on non-alcoholic drink containers such as pop cans and bottled water, CBC News has learned. Find out more

Canada is creating a national registry to track plastic production and pollution, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Monday, with Ottawa set to host another round of negotiations toward a global treaty to end plastic waste. Find out more

Premier Doug Ford's government is facing corporate pressure to change Ontario's plan that sees industry taking on the full cost of blue box recycling programs, CBC News has learned. Find out more

Faced with a rising tide of plastic waste, the federal government is pursuing a plan to get supermarkets to cut down on their use of plastic packaging — a measure that could mean big changes to the shopping experience. Find out more

The federal government wants Canada's grocery stores to come up with a plan to reduce plastic packaging, but industry insiders argue they don't control product packaging and that changes could drive up food prices. Find out more

The federal government announced earlier this year that it would ban the manufacture and import of single-use plastics by December. Now, starting December 20, 2022, consumers in Canada can expect to find more sustainable solutions available soon. Find out more

Thousands of pieces of plastic debris from all over the world have washed up on a remote South Atlantic island, according to conservationists. Litter found on the south-western coast of Ascension Island has been traced back to countries including China, Japan and South Africa, they say. Find out more

If no changes are made to the management of plastic packaging and products to prevent them from becoming waste, Canada will miss its 2030 target by 2,092,994 metric tonnes.This means that 88 per cent of plastics packaging generated “will continue to be disposed in landfills, incinerated or discarded as pollution,” the report said. Find out more

By 2030, the country is expecting to reduce the landfills of plastic waste by 90%. An investment between USD 4.3billion and USD 8.6billion made by the key stakeholders for the addition of 167 new sorting and recycling facilities is expected to increase the revenue generated from plastic recycling across the country. Besides, increasing plastic waste due to the rising demand for packaging on account of the growing e-commerce business is also expected to increase the demand for the plastic recycling market in Canada. Find out more

The $10 million will go toward projects by local businesses that would reduce the use of new plastic, expand reuse of plastics, and increase the use of post-consumer recycled plastics. About 315,000 tonnes of plastics, including electronics and beverage containers, are already recycled annually in B.C., with plans to expand to other waste products such as electronic-vehicle batteries, medical sharps, and mattresses. Find out more

Considering the EPA hasn’t released an updated report on the state of recycling and waste since 2018, it can be difficult to get an idea of how the recycling industry has changed in the past few years. Luckily, we have compiled the most recent statistics on plastic, paper, aluminum, glass, electronic and food recycling for 2022. Find out more

While many natural health and supplement brands move away from rigid plastic container to resalable pouches – to support less plastic waste overall – these pouches do not have a place in today’s provincial recycling programs due to a lack of proper sorting infrastructure and resources. Find out more

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected plastic waste management, as the world saw a rise in single-use sanitary products, and many cities abandoned their recycling and waste management efforts in the first few months, Eirik Lindebjerg of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) told IPS. Find out more

The City of Dawson Creek will partner with Recycle BC to reduce recycling contamination to three per cent or less per week. Canadians dispose of around 3.3 million tons of plastic each year, according to a 2019 study commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Nearly half of that is plastic packaging.  Find out more

Electric-vehicle batteries, mattresses, single-use fuel canisters and fire extinguishers are among the products that will be eligible for provincewide recycling as part of a five-year plan to advance recycling in British Columbia. Find out more

Zero-waste advocates say people's habits need to expand beyond sorting materials. Find out more

The federal government Wednesday listed plastics as toxic under Canada's main environmental law, paving the way for stronger rules. Find out more

Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced approximately $1.3M to support five projects that aim to reduce plastic waste, prevent plastic pollution and support the transition to a national circular plastics economy. Find out more

A new program to recycle disposable face masks is being tested at select health facilities in Metro Vancouver. Find out more

Greenest City is a bold initiative that addresses Vancouver's environmental challenges. The Greenest City Action Plan is a strategy for staying on the leading edge of urban sustainability. Find out more

Over the past year, delivery packaging has increased for many BC residents. Whether it’s from take-out, online shopping, or grocery orders, it seemed there was no shortage of boxes, bags, and envelopes of all shapes and sizes. Find out more

 Under the newly-unveiled list of single-use plastics being banned in Canada, plastic grocery bags, straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery and food containers made from hard-to-recycle plastics will be out of use nationwide by the end of 2021. Find out more

There is one great green hope on the horizon, however, and any conversation with a Canadian waste expert will eventually get to it: extended producer responsibility, a system in which companies that generate consumer waste bear the full expense of dealing with its end-of-life management. Find out more

Generally, the analysis says, it is cheaper and easier to produce new plastic, use it and then throw it away than it is to recycle, reuse or repair it. Find out more

The federal government declared plastics as toxic under Canada's main environmental law, paving the way for stronger rules. Find out more

A new source of plastic pollution in the form of single-use personal protective equipment can have long-term impacts on the environment.  Find out more

A unique startup project sets out to optimize the collection process for reusable and recyclable materials. Find out more