The report sheds light on the plastics packaging ecosystem during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing areas of strength and identifying key gaps where CPP Partners need to work collectively and boldly to address the issue of plastics pollution in the current linear status quo.
In 2019, it was estimated that Canada generated 1.89 million tonnes of plastic packaging, of which only 12% was recycled. In response to the issues around plastic packaging in Canada, 41 stakeholders from across the plastics packaging value chain came together to launch the CPP in January 2021. By the end of CPP’s first year of annual reporting, the organization had doubled in size, with 82 Partners actively involved in the efforts to eliminate plastic packaging waste and advance a circular economy.
As part of the organization’s commitment to transparency, Partners that join the CPP have agreed to share data to measure progress toward the four targets outlined in the CPP’s Roadmap to 2025. Key metrics reported in the 2021 Annual Report include:
- Target 1: 48% of CPP Signatories do not place any plastics currently defined as problematic on the market, while the remaining 52% have plans to reduce or eliminate at least one problematic item.
- Target 2: 44% of plastic packaging placed on the market by CPP Partners is designated as reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- Target 3: 12% of plastic packaging is estimated to have been recycled in Canada in 2019; and only 1% of flexible packaging.
- Target 4: 11% was the average amount of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content (by weight) across plastic packaging produced by CPP Partners.
The CPP’s 2021 Annual Report indicates that although we are still at the start of our collective journey to advancing a circular economy for plastics packaging, we made initial progress out of the gate, including developing and launching our Roadmap to 2025,” says Paul Shorthouse, Interim Managing Director at the Canada Plastics Pact. “We are particularly encouraged by the strong engagement and collaboration from our members and stakeholders and will continue to align on the pathways needed for accelerating progress towards our targets.”
