Gathering Circles: Perspectives From the Circular Plastics Economy Forum

This online experience looks at the recycled plastics in Canada and addresses what policies, markets, and business models need to bolster the country’s circular plastics economy.

Document Highlights

• Compared with other commodities, recycled plastics have relatively crude, inefficient, and illiquid markets in Canada and the United States. Courting large pools of capital from sophisticated investors remains challenging.
• Finding an optimal balance among barriers to entry, competition, accountability, and consistency in regulations across provincial and international borders is fundamental to attracting private investment.
• Even in an ideal circular plastics economy with a landfill diversion and recycling rate of 100 per cent, material losses would still occur, creating waste streams. End-of-life management of these waste streams may require contentious “linear” solutions.
• Circular business models have the potential to transform our economy toward a more sustainable path. The necessary market signals for their success are lacking in Canada. Circular business models also require behavioural changes that some consumers and other stakeholders will resist.