Canada aims to eliminate plastic waste

The Canadian national government has set its sights on reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills by 50 percent by the year 2040. The announcement was made after the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, where federal, provincial and territorial environment ministers also agreed to push forward on a nationwide strategy toward zero plastic waste.  

Government officials say that in 2014, every Canadian threw out, on average, more than 1,500 pounds of waste. The waste-reduction goal adopted during the meeting aims to reduce that number by 30 percent per person by 2030, with the 50 percent reduction goal set for 2040. Officials say the goal will protect the environment while generation more than 85,000 jobs and $4.2 billion gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040. They also predict it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 16 million short tons.

Key points of the strategy outlined at the meeting include:

• ensuring all plastic products and packaging are designed for greater durability, reuse, and recycling throughout the value chain;
• working with companies that make products containing plastics or using plastic packaging to shift responsibility to them for the improvement of plastic-waste collection, management systems and infrastructure across Canada;
• expanding collection systems to keep all plastic products in the economy and out of the environment;
• significantly increasing the responsible use and recycling of single-use products;
• improving understanding of the issue and solutions through research and innovation; and
• taking action to capture and remove the plastic litter found on shorelines and in nearshore waters.

Ministers agreed to continue to work over the coming year with all levels of government, Indigenous communities, industry, and other stakeholders to develop an action plan to implement the strategy for zero plastic waste.

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment is the primary minister-led intergovernmental forum for collective action on environmental issues of national and international concern. The Council seeks to achieve positive environmental results, focusing on issues that are Canada-wide in scope and that require collective attention. The government of Canada has made plastic pollution reduction one of its main initiatives in the past few years, including the launch of the international Ocean Plastics Charter, which aims to reduce single-use plastic consumption.