The Canada Plastics Pact (CPP), launched earlier this year (see Plasteurope.com of 18.02.2021) as part of Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s (EMF, Cowes / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) global Plastics Pact network, has rolled out an ambitious action plan to eliminate plastics waste over the next four years, titled, “Roadmap to 2025: A shared action plan to build a circular economy for plastics packaging”.

Also read: US Plastics Pact unveils Roadmap to 2025

The number of businesses, organisations, policymakers and NGOs involved in the pact has grown to 70 from 40 in a matter of a few months. According to CPP, the roadmap was developed through the engagement of leading industrial groups, NGOs, and public sector organisations, including retailers, recyclers, resin producers, non-profits, associations, governments and others who together account for over a third of the plastics packaging in Canada. The three priorities, as defined in the Canadian plan, are as follows:

• Reduce, reuse, collect: Eliminate unnecessary and hard to recycle plastics. Drive innovation for reuse and refill models. Innovate to prevent waste from creation in the first place. Improve collection and recycling systems.
• Optimise the recycling system: Packaging design standards to improve recyclability. Investments in new infrastructure. Address supply and demand issues to incorporate recycled resins. Ensure government policy is in place and well-designed.
• Use data to improve the whole system: Create standard definitions and measurement practices. Drive investment in better real-time data and monitoring.

George Roter, managing director of the CPP, said, “Plastic packaging is a vital part of daily life, it is high-performing, lightweight, and low cost; but currently, over 85% of what we produce in Canada each year gets used once and ends up in landfills or the environment.”