There have been a lot of recent developments related to Canada’s Zero Plastic Waste Agenda and the federal government’s ban on single-use plastic products, which is why it is a perfect time to share this blog examining some of the latest news, key activities, and the potential impacts on the paper packaging industry. Ban on single-use plastic […]
How Does Canada’s Ban on Single-Use Plastics Impact Paper Packaging? Read More »
The Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) is in the process of considering what it calls specific material “management” targets for Ontario Blue Box recyclables such as paper, plastic, glass, steel and aluminum. It has already stated that it wants to see a collective 75% Blue Box diversion rate, up from the current
Recycled content must be recognised in setting circular economy targets Read More »
Claims for 100% recyclable and 100% compostable seem to be proliferating. Are they accurate? Are they legal? Or are they just another form of greenwash? It’s not surprising that North American consumers are confused. Because in common speech, the words “recyclable” and “compostable” can mean three different things: technically recyclable or compostable, meaning that the
Nothing is 100% recyclable or 100% compostable Read More »
The good news is that the reported recovery rates for almost every single material category in Ontario’s Blue Box have improved over the last 13 years, some by as much as 20 percentage points. The bad news is that several categories have made very little progress and lag way behind the others, and that the
The good, the bad, and the ugly about Ontario’s Blue Box Read More »
The North American paper packaging industry has served notice that it will challenge (legally, if necessary) any false and misleading claims about its operations and environmental impact. Case in point: major plastic crate supplier, IFCO. IFCO is lobbying North American grocery retailers to move away from the traditional corrugated box system of delivering fruit and
False and misleading claims removed from IFCO website Read More »
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, 169 new tree seedlings will have been planted somewhere in a commercial forest in Canada. By the time you get to the bottom of the page that number will have jumped to over 2500. On average, more than a thousand seedlings are launched on a
More than a thousand new tree seedlings are planted every minute in Canada Read More »
Proposed environmental labeling system could lead to claims of industry greenwashing The US-based Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) has transplanted a UK environmental labelling idea to a North American context and is encouraging Canadian companies to pilot it. While we commend the initiative, in our opinion there is a serious danger that companies adopting it could leave themselves
Environmental Labelling Read More »
British Columbia is the latest province in Canada to regulate extended producer responsibility (or EPR) for printed paper and packaging. Publishers, packaging brandowners and first importers (collectively known as stewards) have until November 19 to deliver a plan on how to do it. The big difference with BC is that industry will not only be
British Columbia has golden opportunity to get it right. Read More »
