Federal plastic consultation now underway

Published February 7, 2020

The federal government announced in June 2019 that it will be taking a number of actions to reduce plastic pollution, including banning harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021.

As part of this announcement, the federal government also said it would work together with the provinces and territories to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, to help establish standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging.

Restaurants Canada welcomed these initial commitments from the federal government to take action on plastic waste reduction as an opportunity to develop a truly national path forward in collaboration with industry.

The full statement from Restaurants Canada is available at restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/restaurants-canada-welcomes-opportunity-to-work-with-federal-government-on-coordinated-approach-to-plastic-reduction.

Initial consultation stage now underway

As part of efforts to understand the current state of science in Canada regarding the potential impacts of plastic pollution on the environment and human health, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has released a Draft Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution (the Draft Assessment).

The Draft Assessment, which sheds light on the extent of the plastic pollution issue in Canada, was published on Jan. 30, 2020 in Part I of the Canada Gazette for a 60-day public comment period (ending April 1, 2020).

A summary of key findings and takeaways from the Draft Assessment is available at mccarthy.ca/en/insights/blogs/canadian-era-perspectives/filling-knowledge-gap-federal-government-releases-draft-science-assessment-plastic-pollution.

Restaurants Canada is working closely with a coalition of key stakeholders from other industries to prepare a response to the Draft Assessment.

If you have any feedback for our consideration, you can get in touch with Carol Patterson, Restaurants Canada Interim National Vice President, Government Relations, at CPatterson@restaurantscanada.org, or David Lefebvre, Restaurants Canada Vice President, Federal and Quebec, at DLefebvre@restaurantscanada.org.

Restaurants Canada Digital

Nam dapibus nisl vitae elit fringilla rutrum. Aenean sollicitudin, erat a elementum rutrum, neque sem pretium metus, quis mollis nisl nunc et massa. Vestibulum sed metus in lorem tristique ullamcorper id vitae erat.

More from Restaurants Canada Digital
Wholesale Club