S P R I N G I S S U E
M A Y 2 0 1 8
- A M E S S A G E -
F R O M T H E C E O
To Get to ‘Zero Plastic Waste’ We Need Bold Action
Lately, you may have heard the term “zero plastic waste” used in your community, around the country and perhaps from jurisdictions around the world. I caution you not to be confused by it. “Zero plastic waste” does not mean “zero plastics”.
Look around you and you’ll notice that many items are made from plastics that make your life more enjoyable, convenient, productive and secure. Plastics are an essential material to the modern economy. They preserve freshness and protect food reducing food waste; lighten vehicles and the loads they carry, thereby improving fuel efficiency; are used in medical equipment to save lives and in electronics allowing them to function in a wide range of conditions. If effectively collected and processed, plastics are a valuable resource that should be re-circulated in the economy. Plastics should not be wasted.
Plastics, especially single-use items, being discharged to oceans and waterways is a growing global problem. This is no small matter. The global plastics recycling rate is less than 10% and if current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12 billion tonnes of plastic waste will be land-filled or dumped in the environment by 2050.
A recent report from the U.K. Express News noted “A staggering 90 per cent of all plastic found in the world's oceans is carried there by just ten rivers - all of them in India, Africa and China.” In my view, Canada has an opportunity—and an obligation—to demonstrate leadership and take action now.
Canada is currently president of the G7, which comprises France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada. At the June G7 Leaders Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada’s Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is planning to table a ‘zero plastic waste’ charter for adoption by the G7 nations.
The G7 Summit gives Canada a platform to lead change globally on how plastics are valued, used, recovered, reused and recycled. Canada and other G7 nations can be the model for developing countries to adapt programs that will improve the life-cycle and end-of-life management of plastic products and packaging.
There are four areas to increase the collection and recycling of plastics here in Canada and in developing countries:
1. Incentivizing consumers
Canada is widely recognized for the breadth and depth of its recycling networks. Ninety-eight percent of Canadians have access to recycling programs that accept a range of plastic packaging and products, yet less than 40% of recyclable plastics that enter the Canadian market place are recycled. Why? We need a mix of incentives and other measures to motivate recycler behavioural change to improve recycling frequency and behaviour.
2. Producer responsibility
Producers should adopt product and packaging commitments that contribute to a low carbon circular economy. Indeed, two multi-nationals have already stepped up – Unilever by 2025 and Coca Cola by 2030 – in terms of the recyclability and use of recycled content in their products and packaging. These commitments to packaging and product recyclability must be supplemented by specific collection and recycling targets and recycled content targets. Such commitments will drive investment in collection and processing systems, especially for harder to recycle plastics (e.g., non-recyclable laminated packaging), drive demand for recycled plastics, improve collection and recycling economies of scale and reduce unit collection and recycling costs.
The ultimate goal is to recover all post plastic molecules as high value plastics for reuse in manufacturing and to do so in a manner that is environmentally and cost effective and socially progressive.
3. Public policy at the provincial level
By establishing common producer responsibility policies, provincial governments can create a level playing field among producers, thereby reducing free riders in collection and recycling systems. Stringent application of producer responsibility results in high consumer accessibility, collection rates, material quality, and demand for recycled content. Producer responsibility should be supported with monitoring and enforcement.
Implemented widely, producer responsibility will drive producers to give consideration to product and packaging design to reduce the amount of materials used and increase the reusability of products while preserving or even increasing the quality, safety, and longevity of the contents within the packaging/product.
4. Federal leadership
Environment Canada should set a national action plan with clear definitions of the circular economy, producer responsibility, and recycling as well as set out meaningful, achievable targets to drive and guide the work of the provinces, help producers meet their product and packaging commitments and obligations, and facilitate the sharing of our waste management expertise, practices and technology abroad.
Canadian producer responsibility organizations and regulatory authorities, the private sector, the resource recovery sector and municipalities have established effective institutions and systems for waste diversion that achieve excellent recycling outcomes. Canada can tap into this enormous wealth of knowledge to help developing nations recover valuable resources and stem the flow of land-based plastics into waterways and oceans.
At the G7 Summit, we urge Canada to step forward with bold ideas and strong action to move the bar on a new plastics circular economy within Canada and globally.
At Emterra, we are committed to our mission of being a leader in developing and implementing practical circular economy solutions. We are ready and poised to implement effective solutions here at home and anywhere worldwide to tackle the challenges of plastics that are not being managed as a resource.
As always, we welcome and encourage any comments or questions you may have.
Best wishes,
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Emterra named one of Canada's Greenest Employers for third time in a row
The Greenest Employer award recognizes employers that lead the nation in making environmental values part of their organizational culture. This year, Emterra stands out for our partnership with The Natural Step Canada's Circular Economy Innovation Lab, progressive waste and recycling programs and significant infrastructure investments to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Teen said tour of ReVital Polymers opened her eyes about plastics
A plastic container recycling facility – even one that is state-of-the-art – might not be the most riveting attraction for a 15-year-old, but Milah-Rose Jamieson from Petrolia, Ontario said her tour of ReVital Polymers Inc. was incredible and “opened her eyes” about plastics recycling.
A Victoria resident had a wish - to be just like his recycling crew
Sometimes we make wishes for material things, sometimes we wish for something to happen and sometimes wishes are just that - wishes. But one thing they all have in common is that they are personal to the one wishing. For Kai, a young man in Victoria with autism, his wish was to spend some time in the shoes of his recycling collectors.
Emterra Group of companies announces their certifications as a woman-owned and a minority-owned enterprise
In an industry traditionally dominated by men, Emterra Group spent International Women’s Day celebrating their diversity as a woman and minority-owned business.
Emterra Rewards add value for residents’ green behaviour
Emterra Environmental USA offers recycling services just as the company does on the Canadian side of the border, but the US division has a value-added service that is rewarding green recycling routines – Emterra Rewards
Paulina Leung elected to CNGVA board of directors
In January 2018, Paulina Leung, Emterra Group’s Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Natural Gas vehicle Alliance (CNGVA). Here, she will contribute strategic leadership and direction to Canada’s natural gas vehicle industry.
Veteran product stewardship and waste diversion leader, Gordon Day, joins Emterra Group
On the verge of the third decade in the 21st century, Emterra Group is looking ahead to how we can develop new opportunities for growth, improved performance and competitiveness within a framework of providing services that help the waste management industry and our customers transition to a low carbon circular economy. To guide us in taking steps toward that evolving business environment, we are pleased to welcome well-known waste management and diversion leader, Gordon Day, to the Emterra team.
Emterra Community Care events: coming soon
Spring is just around the corner and with it comes two of our most popular Community Care events.
The bi-annual Shred-a-Thon will be taking place in Chilliwack, BC on Saturday, June 2, 2018. For this event, residents make the trip to the Cottonwood Mall parking lot to recycle and shred their cardboard and paper, free of charge. In return, they are encouraged to bring a cash or food donation for the local foodbank. The December event raised over $10,000 and collected more than 1,500 food items. All funds and food are donated to the local chapter of the Salvation Army.
Spring is also the time for Make Your Contribution At The Curb™ cheque presentations. Each spring, in both the Niagara Region in ON and the Courtenay and Comox regions of Vancouver Island, BC, we contribute to local health care organizations for the recycling contributions of their communities. To implement a competitive incentive, we donate one dollar for every tonne of recyclables residents place at the curb. To date, the program has donated nearly $300,000 to community health.
Welcome to the Emterra family
We would like to welcome the City of Port Huron to the Emterra family. We also look forward to continuing our services in the Villages of Pigeon, Elkton, Lexington and Thetford Township who have renewed their contracts with us. Emterra Environmental USA looks forward to providing services in these communities.
– F I N D & F O L L O W –
E M T E R R A O N L I N E
