Plastic waste management and environmental stewardship in Canada : implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility programs

AUTHOR : Barry Friesen, P.Eng., Cleanfarms Canada, Executive Director
As elsewhere, the need for responsible disposal of agricultural plastics has arisen in Canada and Extended Producer Responsibility legislation is being implemented throughout the provinces. The process has accelerated since our last article in Plasticulture Magazine n°141 in 2022. This is why we wish to give readers an update: Cleanfarms tells us how its agri-plastics management and recycling programs are operating and expanding.
Canadian farmers have long embraced the need to manage their land and its resources in a sustainable manner. Over the past several decades, new uses of plastics in agriculture have also provided farmers with great benefits such as better efficiencies, higher yields and lower costs. At the same time, Cleanfarms, established in 2010 as a non-profit stewardship organization, has become a trusted partner for Canadian farmers in their quest to manage plastic waste.
Evolving Regulatory Landscape
In recent years, significant changes in Canada’s regulatory environment have brought about new opportunities and challenges for plastics used in agriculture. Benchmarked by the UN’s initiative to establish a global, binding commitment to address plastic pollution and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation’s development of a voluntary ‘Code of Conduct’ to address agricultural plastic waste, Canada has unveiled its own path forward.
The designation of “plastic manufactured items” under Canada’s Environmental Protection Act marks a pivotal moment. The federal government is set to implement a plastics registry, requiring brand owners to register and report annually on the volumes of plastic manufactured items sold, how they are used, and track them through to end of life via recycling, disposal and potential reuse.
New labeling rules will require brand owners to specify the recyclability of their products, stating they are only recyclable if accepted in at least 80% of recycling facilities in Canada. Additionally, minimum recycled content levels will be mandated for designated plastic manufactured items by a specified date.
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