On 20 December 2023, Steven Guilbeault, minister of Environment and Climate Change, launched a consultation on creating the Federal Plastics Registry. It is open until 13 February 2024.
He said: “The Federal Plastics Registry is an important tool that will help track and manage plastics across the economy. It will support provinces and territories in making producers responsible for their plastic waste at end of life and help move Canada toward a circular economy for plastics.”
On 28 July 2023, the Earth marked the first ‘Global Plastic Overshoot Day’, when the amount of plastic waste produced surpassed the world’s ability to manage it – a grim milestone for life on our planet. Microplastics have been found everywhere, from placentas and newborns to remote ecosystems in the Antarctic and the Mariana Trench, threatening large-scale harm. In the EU alone, over 145,000 tonnes of microplastics are released every year into the environment.
Between 1990 and 2019, only 4% of global plastics produced were recycled, while the rest were dumped in toxic landfills (39%) or incinerated (10%). Recycling, however, is not the silver bullet solution it is often purported to be. For example, a 2023 study found that recycled plastic pellets contained hundreds of toxic chemicals, and were termed as “unfit for most purposes”. Thus, the only long-term pathway towards a more sustainable economy is implementing circular solutions and curbing petrochemical-based plastic production and use. Some innovative solutions are already available on the market, such as returnable packaging.
Read the entire article here: https://www.sgvoice.net/policy/47990/canada-mulls-over-federal-plastics-registry/
