The Government of Canada requires producers to take more responsibility for the plastic they put on the market

The Government of Canada is implementing a comprehensive plan to reduce plastic pollution, improve how plastic is made, used, and managed across its life cycle, and move toward a circular economy. On April 22, 2024, the Government of Canada published an information-gathering notice under section 46 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) to collect data for the Federal Plastics Registry. A section 46 information-gathering notice is authorized under CEPA to allow the Minister to collect data for the purpose of conducting research, creating an inventory of data, formulating objectives and codes of practice, issuing guidelines or assessing or reporting on the state of the environment.

The Federal Plastics Registry

The Federal Plastics Registry will require companies (including resin manufacturers, service providers, and producers of plastic products) to report annually on the quantity and types of plastic they manufacture, import, and place on the market. Producers of plastic products and service providers will also be required to report on the quantity of plastic collected and diverted, reused, repaired, remanufactured, refurbished, recycled, processed into chemicals, composted, incinerated, and landfilled. They will also be required to report on the amount of plastic waste generated on their industrial, commercial, and institutional premises.

The Federal Plastics Registry will provide Canadians, including innovators and decision-makers, with reliable data that will identify opportunities for further action to reduce plastic waste and pollution, as well as help monitor progress over time.

In Canada, the responsibility for managing waste is shared among the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. As part of their responsibilities, provinces and territories develop and expand extended producer-responsibility programs to make producers responsible for managing their products at their end-of-life. While extended producer responsibility plays an important role in building a circular plastics economy, reporting requirements are inconsistent across Canada due to different definitions, calculations, and indicators of success.

That’s why the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste committed federal, provincial, and territorial governments to developing and maintaining Canada-wide data on how plastic moves through the economy. The Federal Plastics Registry will help address these needs by providing accessible, consistent and robust plastic data. This information will go beyond plastic packaging and other plastic categories currently captured through domestic extended producer-responsibility programs.

Implementation phases for the Federal Plastics Registry

Reporting requirements for the Federal Plastics Registry will be introduced in phases to allow time and flexibility for those obligated to report. Small producers that place less than one tonne of plastic on the market are exempt from making annual reports. This ensures that small businesses are not burdened and can continue to grow, while also ensuring that those placing significant quantities of plastic on the market are transparent with Canadians by reporting to the Registry.

As outlined in the table below, reporting to the Federal Plastics Registry will start in September 2025, requiring reporting on plastic placed on the market in three categories for the 2024 calendar year.

In 2026, reporting requirements for resin manufacturers and importers will be added, as well as reporting on plastic placed on the market for the remaining categories. In 2026, reporting on plastic waste generated at industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities, plastic collected at end-of-life, as well as plastic sent for diversion and disposal for some categories, will also be introduced.

In 2027, additional reporting requirements on plastics collected and sent for diversion and disposal for more categories will be added.

Reporting requirements for beyond 2027 will be covered in a future information-gathering notice.

Beyond the Registry: Canada’s comprehensive plan to reduce plastic pollution

The Government of Canada is implementing an evidence-based and comprehensive plan to reduce plastic waste and pollution and move toward a circular plastics economy through a range of complementary actions across the plastics life cycle.

The government advances Canada’s Plastic Science Agenda by conducting and investing in plastic science and uses this and other robust information to inform federal actions and measure progress.

Prevention is paramount. That is why the Government of Canada is eliminating certain harmful and problematic plastic products from entering the marketplace. Canada is one of the first countries to ban plastic microbead-containing toiletries.

For plastics that can be sustainably managed, the Government of Canada is taking targeted action that prioritizes prevention and reduction of plastic waste from the start and improves how plastic is made, used, managed, and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The government is also advancing sector-based solutions, investing in concrete actions, including reuse and Canadian-made innovations, and greening its own operations and procurement practices to set a good example. This integrated approach will reduce unnecessary and problematic plastic, strengthen reuse and other value-recovery processes, and help inform Canadians.

Canada has a long track record of supporting international and domestic actions to address plastic pollution, including through the launch of the Ocean Plastics Charter during its 2018 G7 Presidency and its membership in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. As Canada welcomes the world to Ottawa for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4) from April 23–29, 2024, the country continues to play an active leadership role in finalizing an ambitious and effective global agreement to end plastic pollution by working with all countries and partners to achieve this goal.

The Government of Canada will continue to work collaboratively with its partners to advance its comprehensive plan at home and abroad, including by working with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to implement the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste and Action Plan.

Reporting phases for the Federal Plastics Registry, simplified