Certain plastic-manufactured items in Canada are now considered a toxic substance under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). For environmental groups this is a victory. For industry groups it is a point of frustration.
Plastics have proven to be incredibly useful across industries for decades. They reduce weight in cars (increasing gas mileage), protect and preserve foods, and make packing lighter for transportation, they are used in electronics from televisions to computers and cell phones, and protect athletes of all ages with helmets and padding.
But it’s no secret that there is a global problem with mismanagement of waste plastic.
Canada Lists Plastics as a Toxic Substance
In what is considered by many as a controversial move, the Canadian Government has decided to add plastics to Schedule 1 of the List of Toxic Substances.
From the Canada Gazette, Part II, “Some of the images from places Plastic manufactured items that are discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the environment outside of a waste management system (such as a recycling facility or a landfill) constitute plastic pollution. Current scientific evidence confirms that plastic pollution is ubiquitous in the environment, and that macroplastic pollution poses an ecological hazard, including physical harm, to some animals and their habitat. The Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health (the ministers) are satisfied that plastic manufactured items meet the ecological criterion for a toxic substance as set out in paragraph 64(a) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA or the Act). In order to develop risk management measures under CEPA to address the potential ecological risks associated with certain plastic manufactured items, the ministers recommended that the Administrator in Council make an order adding ‘plastic manufactured items’ to Schedule 1 to the Act (the List of Toxic Substances)”
The objective, according the announcement, of the Order Adding a Toxic Substance to Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 is to add plastic manufactured items to Schedule 1 to CEPA, which enables the ministers to propose risk management measures under CEPA on certain plastic manufactured items to manage the potential ecological risks associated with those items becoming plastic pollution.
Industry Responds
Last fall when it appeared that the Canadian Government was going to move forward with federal legislation to regulate plastics, The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada issued a press release that said in part;
“The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC), remains firmly of the view that the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999 is not an appropriate tool for managing post-consumer plastic waste. CIAC supports the development of national waste legislation that will provide the appropriate authorities and the tools to support advancing a circular economy for plastics in Canada.”
Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), based in Washington, D.C. said in a release, “America’s plastic makers are deeply committed to ending plastic waste, but listing ‘plastic manufactured items’ as ‘CEPA toxic’ is likely to cause undue alarm and confusion among consumers who have relied on these helpful, well-studied plastic products for decades. Banning efficient plastic products will likely lead to forced substitutions with alternatives that increase greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the transition to a low-carbon future.”
Tony Radoszewski, president and CEO of the Plastic Industry Association said, “Our two countries (Canada and the US) are powerful plastics economies. This development is a symbolic gesture to activists and threatens tens of billions of dollars of commerce. The idea that plastic is toxic is the true danger.”
Mismanagement of Plastics – A Global Perspective
There is no arguing that globally, there is a serious problem with improper management of waste plastics. According to Our World in Data, by 2015, “the world had produced 7.8 billion tonnes of plastic — more than one tonne of plastic for every person alive today.”
But it is not the use of plastics that is the problem, it the improper management and disposal of plastics that can lead to potential ecological risks. You need only type in your search engine plastics pollution to find heartbreaking images of plastics choking rivers, oceans, and land.
With the images of plastic pollution around the globe, it’s not surprising that environmental groups and regulatory bodies are interested in addressing this issue. The mismanagement of plastics globally is most prominent in certain regions of the world. The percent of global mismanagement of plastics are: East Asia and Pacific – 60%; South Asia – 11%; Sub-Saharan Africa – 8.9%; Middle East and Northern Africa – 8.3%; Latin America and Caribbean – 8.2%. Canada is 0.03% and the United States is 0.86% (see Our World in Data).
Putting a finer point on the issue, The Jambeck (Research Group), published a study in 2015, which found “just four Asian countries — China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam — account for about half the plastic waste that flows from land into the ocean. Europe and North America make up less than 5% because they have better systems for getting rid of waste. Aside from what’s burned or recycled, the plastic they throw away into closed landfills is unlikely to leak into rivers.”
You will find more infographics at Statista
Another study, by the Jambeck Research Group found that mismanaged plastic waste — the sort likely to land in oceans — would barely decrease if Europe and North America cut out all plastic.
Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards
Getting back to the announcement in Canada Gazette they state, “As no specific risk management measures are recommended as part of the Order, developing an implementation plan and a compliance and enforcement strategy, as well as establishing service standards, are not necessary at this time. Once the ministers propose risk management measures for plastic manufactured items, the departments will assess these elements during the development of such measures.”
Keep an eye out for implementation/compliance/enforcement strategy with respect to certain plastic manufactured items in Canada.
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