Ottawa will hold plastics manufacturers accountable every year

Photo: Spencer Colby The Canadian Press Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault (centre) speaks with Indonesian climate activist Aeshnina Azzahra (right), following the 'March to End the Age of Plastic', Sunday in Ottawa.

The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Posted at 3:08 p.m.

• Canada

Canada is seeking to better control the amount of plastic produced in the country and will require companies that manufacture it to report annually on what they produce.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced the creation of a national plastics registry, on the eve of the start of negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic waste, Tuesday in Ottawa.

Minister Guilbeault is a key player in these negotiations, which aim to establish an international agreement to eliminate plastic waste by 2040.

Canadians throw away more than 4 million tonnes of plastic each year, and less than a tenth of that mass is actually recycled.

Also read

• A majority of businesses have given up on single-use plastic, according to Montreal
• Federal Court rejects listing of plastics as “toxic”
• The plastic era is suffocating the planet, including land and sea

The register will first apply to manufacturers of plastic packaging, single-use and disposable products, as well as electronic equipment. It is planned to extend it in the coming years to cover producers of resins, tires and agricultural products.

These producers will have to declare each year the quantity of plastic they manufacture and where these products end up.