Quebec plastics task force wins half-million dollar grant

The Circular Plastics Task force (CPT) has received a grant of more than $500,000 from the Quebec Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI).

This grant marks the official start of Phase II of the project led by the CPT, which aims to improve plastics recycling processes so that material recovery facilities (MRFs) and recyclers can better meet the needs of end markets for post-consumer recycled plastic.

Launched in 2020,the CPT is a collaborative effort of organizations wishing to find concrete solutions to improve the management of post-consumer plastics. It brings together five major food, beverage and packaging companies in Canada (Cascades, Danone Canada, Dyne-a-pak, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada and TC Transcontinental), the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) and Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ).

The financial partnership with the MEI will allow the launch of the first pilot projects of Phase II. Phase I of the project was concluded in September 2021 with the publication of a White Paper highlighting the main findings and recommendations made by the CPT at the end of this first stage.

Pilot projects

Phase II will see the deployment of several pilot projects in MRFs and at recyclers that will improve the quality of outgoing materials and the overall recycling rate of plastic packaging within the context of provincial extended producer responsibility programs. Several projects targeting priority resins will be deployed on an industrial scale.

In addition, two initiatives dealing with the systemic issues of traceability and the food grade process will be deployed in parallel.

“The major reforms of deposit and curbside collection systems that our government has initiated have led players in the plastics value chain to collaborate to propose solutions aimed at maximizing the use of resources while promoting the circular economy. Result: more materials diverted from landfills and reduction of greenhouse gases,” said Benoit Charette, Quebec’s minister of the environment and the fight against climate change.

“I congratulate the Circular Plastics Taskforce! They undertook a structuring project that will help us collectively reach our target, which is to make Québec a waste-free society.”

For more details on the CPT and Phase II, visit gapc.ca.