The Circular Plastics Taskforce completes Phase I of its major initiative in support of a circular economy for plastics
The Circular Plastics Taskforce (CPT) has completed the first phase of its efforts to implement a circular economy for plastics in Quebec and Canada. Officially launched in 2020, the CPT is a collaborative effort of organizations interested in finding 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 Chemical Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) and Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ). The first phase of the CPT’s project was completed with the financial support of Environment and Climate Change Canada and ÉEQ, and the active support of several public and private organizations. The objective of Phase I was to conduct a detailed mapping of the value chain of the plastics recycling industry in Québec, to determine market needs and to establish optimization hypotheses aimed at achieving the required specifications, following a reverse engineering approach. The work completed in this first phase consisted of five activities: 1) establishing an understanding of the situation in consultation with stakeholders; 2) analyzing potential markets; 3) establishing a profile of processors, recyclers and sorting centres; 4) developing a report, findings and recommendations, and; 5) setting up and carrying out simulation tests to validate the potential of the identified optimization paths.