As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

The Committee recommends that Environment and Climate Change Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, develop and implement ambitious targets to meet the goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.

Recommendation 2

The Committee recommends that Environment and Climate Change Canada set up a permanent secretariat and a working group, with representatives from provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, municipalities, industry, academia, and other relevant stakeholders, specifically dedicated to coordinate the fight against plastic pollution in Canada.

Recommendation 3

The Committee recommends that the federal government add single-use plastics, and any other plastic substances for which there is a scientific assessment – using existing science combined with the precautionary principle – warranting a conclusion of toxicity under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to Schedule 1, the List of Toxic Substances, so that the range of regulatory tools can be applied to these substances.

Recommendation 4

The Committee recommends that, for other types of plastic and plastic waste, the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change and of Health add these substances to the Priority Substances List established under the provisions of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and proceed with the scientific assessments needed to determine the toxicity of these plastics.

Recommendation 5

The Committee recommends that Environment and Climate Change Canada make public its research agenda related to determining the toxicity of plastics, as well as all resulting scientific studies.

Recommendation 6

The Committee recommends that the federal government commit to banning harmful single-use plastic products – such as straws, bags, cutlery, cups, cigarette filters and polystyrene packaging – in Canada, and, where warranted based on existing scientific evidence, take other steps under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to regulate their use, composition and disposal.

Recommendation 7

The Committee recommends that the federal government, after having consulted with provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, municipalities and industry, develop harmonized national standards concerning the chemical composition, material categories, and recyclability and compostability of plastic products manufactured or sold in Canada.

Recommendation 8

The Committee recommends that the federal government require importers and manufacturers of plastic products and resin in Canada to disclose – on the Internet or otherwise – the chemical composition of these products and resins.

Recommendation 9

The Committee recommends that Environment and Climate Change Canada, in consultation with provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, municipalities and industry, lead the development of a model recycling system and a model extended producer responsibility framework specifically for plastic that could be adopted, with or without adaptation, in each province or territory. If required, the federal government should propose legislation within its areas of jurisdiction to facilitate the adoption of the model recycling system and extended producer responsibility framework.

Recommendation 10

The Committee recommends that the federal government work with provinces and territories to require that plastic resin and plastic goods sold in Canada be made from at least 50% recycled plastic by 2030.

Recommendation 11

The Committee recommends that the federal government prohibit the export of plastic waste to be landfilled in a foreign country.

Recommendation 12

The Committee recommends that the federal government work with provinces and territories to ban the landfilling of plastic waste in each province and territory as part of Canada’s national zero plastic waste strategy.

Recommendation 13

The Committee recommends that the Department of Finance Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada conduct a thorough assessment to identify all federal fossil fuel subsidies related to plastics, addressing the shortcomings identified by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in her 2019 Spring Reports, Report 3 – Tax Subsidies for Fossil Fuels–Department of Finance Canada, and Report 4 – Non-Tax Subsidies for Fossil Fuels–Environment and Climate Change Canada, and that the federal government eliminate the fossil fuel subsidies identified.

Recommendation 14

The Committee recommends that the federal government create a funding program to foster research and development regarding sources of plastic pollution and the effects of plastic pollution on human health and the environment.

Recommendation 15

The Committee recommends that the federal government create incentives, such as grants and contributions or a tax credit, to encourage businesses and universities and other research bodies to invest in research and development related to:

• plastic waste monitoring and standardized data collection;
• preventing microplastic pollution through wastewater;
• recyclability and compostability of plastics;
• recycling technology and infrastructure, including chemical recycling; and
• alternatives that are less toxic for the environment and human health.

Recommendation 16

The Committee recommends that the federal government study how it can best support and encourage the expansion and diversification of modern recycling and recovery infrastructure across Canada, and that it implement these supports.

Recommendation 17

The Committee recommends that the federal government establish a funding program to help the plastic recycling industry modernize and expand its facilities across Canada.

Recommendation 18

The Committee recommends that the federal government establish a funding program to help municipalities in meeting any new federal regulations related to removing microplastics from drinking water and wastewater.

Recommendation 19

The Committee recommends that the federal government consider legislation and regulations to require that products made from plastic sold or imported into Canada be labelled – on the product itself or on a QR code – with information about the type of plastic contained in the product, the proportion of recycled plastic content, and how to properly dispose of the product.

Recommendation 20

The Committee recommends that Environment and Climate Change Canada ensure, through an extended producer responsibility framework, funding for delivering information campaigns to inform Canadians about:

• the life-cycle environmental impacts of plastic goods;
• how to properly dispose of plastics so that they stay out of the environment; and,
• how to reduce plastic use and waste.

Recommendation 21

The Committee recommends that the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada, no later than 2022, establish a directive requiring federal departments and agencies, where economically justified and technically feasible, to:

• eliminate the use of single-use plastic products;
• buy alternatives to plastics; and
• buy plastic goods and materials that contain recycled content rather than those that do not.