The end of 2024 and the start of 2025 brought further updates to Canadian Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), most notably were additional developments to plastic reporting at the federal level.
Federal action on plastics: Introducing the Federal Plastics Registry
By 2030, the Canadian Federal Government aims to extend the life of plastic products and achieve the ambitious target of zero plastics waste. To meet this target, the Canadian government has implemented a plan to manage the amount of plastics being imported and manufactured in the country. The Federal Plastics Registry (FPR) has set out a clear pathway to collect and evidence the volumes of the plastics and resins, as well as their impact on the Canadian market.
Who’s affected? Expanded reporting obligations
The goal of the FPR is for resin manufacturers, service providers, and producers of plastic products to annually report the quantity and types of plastic they manufacture, import, and place on the market. In addition to this, industrial, commercial, and institutional premises are also required to report the packaging and products in scope of the regulation, a break from provincial packaging requirements that only obligate consumer packaging.
Phased reporting timeline: What to expect in 2025 and beyond
Reporting for the FPR is currently set to begin in September 2025, beginning with a phased reporting schedule of plastics in packaging, electronic and electrical equipment, and single-use or disposable plastic products.
From 2026, the categories for reporting are set to expand to cover plastic resins, agriculture and horticulture products, tyres, transportation, construction, fishing and aquaculture, and finally textiles and apparel.
This is the first substantive move from the Canadian Federal Government to tackle the ever-present issue of plastic waste.
Provincial momentum: New EPR developments across Canada
New Brunswick – The government of New Brunswick has published amendments to existing regulations to cover all EPR programmes and introduce a unified producer hierarchy across packaging, WEEE, and batteries. Obligated producers can register with the producer responsibility organisation, Call2Recycle Canada, to cover their battery compliance.
Yukon – Following the approval of the government of Yukon’s Extended Producer Responsibility regulation, battery compliance will be a requirement from early 2025.
Alberta – As of 1 April 2025, Call2Recycle Canada is the approved producer responsibility organisation for battery recycling in Alberta. This comes after Alberta’s EPR evolution that saw the producer responsibility organisation, Circular Materials, launch the first phase of packaging compliance in province. The launch of both battery and packaging regulations will lead to a move away from municipalities funding kerbside collection, and toward the cost responsibility being taken on by the producer.
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