Less than ten per cent of plastics in Canada are recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills and often on our beaches, in rivers, parks and our oceans, harming wildlife and damaging habitats. Canadians want to see concrete action from governments and plastic producers to step up to tackle plastic pollution. This means improving how plastics are made, used and managed, cutting plastic waste, building green economic opportunities, and sending a clear signal to governments and businesses so they can spur innovation, drive policy, and signal areas of investment.
That is why today, coinciding with Earth Day under the theme Planet vs. Plastics, the Government of Canada announced the new Federal Plastics Registry, a tool to compel plastic producers and other companies across the plastics value chain to help monitor and track plastic from the time it is produced up to its end of life. By better tracking plastic through its full life cycle, both governments and industry will be better equipped to address plastic waste and pollution through increased transparency and sound, robust, evidence-based decision-making. This announcement helps set the tone for the kinds of measures Canada hopes to encourage the world to move toward this week in Ottawa during the fourth session of negotiations toward a new global agreement on plastic pollution.
