In a bid to scare more businesses away from Canada, the Liberals have announced a mandatory Federal Plastics Registry to force companies to declare all plastics used in products and monitor all plastics throughout their life cycle.
If you thought paper straws dissolving in your drink was annoying, things are probably going to get a whole lot worse now that companies are being pressured into finding ways to move away from plastic all together.
As per a GoC news release, the government will establish a Federal Plastics Registry that will require companies (including resin manufacturers, service providers and producers of plastic products) to produce annual reports on all plastics, their types, imports, and where they end up in various markets.
“Reporting on the amount of packaging and other plastic waste generated on industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) premises will be mandatory,” the government writes.
They will also be required to produce reports and monitor how much of the plastic is collected for diversion, reused, repaired, remanufactured, refurbished, recycled, or reprocessed, as well as how much ends up in landfills or is incinerated.
How companies will manage to track every piece of plastic in the country to accurately report on the quantity that ends up in landfills is still not clear, but it will likely involve hiring swaths of new workers, which will have a knock-on effect of increasing prices.
The government says they are now drafting a guidance document to inform companies how to report to the Federal Plastics Registry and that companies will be expected to do so by September 29, 2025.
The Liberal government has yet to say whether companies who fail to meet certain plastic reduction benchmarks will be fined or otherwise pay additional fees.
