Canadian government, leading companies partner to create circular economy for plastics

In a bid to help solve problems facing the recycling industry in Quebec and Canada, five leading companies in Canada’s food, beverage, and packaging sector are joining forces to create the Circular Plastics Taskforce (Groupe d’action plastiques circulaires, or GAPC) to develop a circular economy for plastics, in partnership with the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) and with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Éco Entreprises Québec will also support the project as a consultant and financial partner.

With the goal of closer alignment between market needs and recycling stakeholders (material recovery facilities (MRF) and packaging companies), Cascades, Danone Canada, Dyne-a-pak, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, TC Transcontinental, and CPIA have teamed up with Centre de transfert technologique en écologie industrielle (CTTEI) at the Sorel-Tracy CÉGEP and Chamard Stratégies environnementales to identify and recommend solutions for optimizing the handling of plastics throughout the recycling value chain.

The group will map the recycling value chain and use pilot projects to test solutions. “We are all aware of the need to recover plastics more effectively in Canada, but more important still, to recycle them within a circular economy,” the taskforce said in a Feb. 25 statement. “Our goal is to see all types of plastic recycled locally and to develop a strong recycled resin market in the province. For that to happen, we need to step up support for our MRFs and packaging companies. We’re committed to taking action and being part of the solution.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada will help fund the initial project phase with a contribution of nearly $475,000 over two years. The rest of the funding of this first step will come from the contribution of the GAPC’s founding members, as well as from Éco Entreprises Québec.

GAPC also works with various provincial government agencies and has been consulted by departments within the ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation (MEI) and the ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les Changements climatiques (MELCC) in drawing up the provincial government’s plastics strategy.

Based on the initial timeline, the first phase of the project will run through October 2020.