Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine March/April 2022 - 12

CPCA CORNER
BY PETER MIRTCHEV
to manage waste falls on the producer and not government or
consumers. This includes funding waste management (in part or
in full) and tracking and reporting volumes and is seen as a way
to incentivize producers to reduce their waste footprint.
Provincial governments across Canada introduced a
Government Consulting on New Regulations to
Set Minimum Recycled Content Requirement in
Plastic Manufactured Items Including Paint Cans
I
n October 2020, the federal Government announced
its intent to develop regulations under the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act (CEPA, 1999) to
require minimum recycled content in certain plastic
manufactured items. As part of Canada's plan to achieve zero
plastic waste, plastic packaging in Canada will be required
to contain at least 50 percent recycled content by 2030. This
objective is supported by the Canadian Council of Ministers of
the Environment (CCME) endorsed this target as part of Phase 1
of the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste.
Government's main goal of minimum recycled content
requirements is to strengthen the market demand for recycled
plastics. This in turn could create market pressures for increased
collection, sorting and recycling of plastic waste. It could also
create incentives for investments in supportive infrastructure
and in innovation, such as in improved product design for
recycling.
The proposed Regulations are proposing to target packaging
in the initial version of the proposed Regulations. This includes
beverage containers, bottles, foam packaging, garbage bags,
waste bins, and non-bottle rigid containers and trays. The latter
category encapsulates containers for products such as paints,
plants, cleaning products, cosmetics, housewares, electronics,
appliances, sports equipment and toys. CPCA will be submitting
comments to the consultation to raise concerns with the
accelerated timeline of the government's plastic initiatives and
the unrealistic volumes of recycled plastic material that would
be required to meet the stated targets for 50 percent recycled
content by 2030. The proposed Regulations may be published in
the Canada Gazette, Part I, as early as late 2022 depending on the
outcome of the consultations.
Product Stewardship and Extended Producer
Responsibility Across Canada - A Review of
Recent Developments
Canada's provincial and territorial governments are responsible
for developing and overseeing waste management programs
to divert waste away from landfills, and this includes paint
recycling. Over the last few years there has been a shift to extended
producer responsibility (EPR) models where the responsibility
12
www.cfcm.ca
number of changes in 2021 ranging from initiating whole new
programs, to expanding existing program scopes and enhancing
enforcement activities. These changes have affected all product
categories, including tires, batteries, electronic products,
packaging, beverage containers, and hazardous and special
products which includes paint.
In Alberta, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement
Amendment Act was recently passed implementing an EPR
framework for the province to manage single-use plastics,
packaging and paper products, and hazardous and special
products. In neighbouring BC, there is also a proposal
to
amend the Hazardous Waste Regulations to better support the
collection and diversion of wastes and encourage EPR in the
province. However, paint and coatings will not be implicated in
this new regulation and will continue as is under ARMA.
Ontario also saw many developments around EPR and
product stewardship in 2021. The province's Hazardous and
Special Products Regulation came into force in July initiating
a transition to a new EPR model for hazardous and special
products, overseen by the Resource Productivity and Recovery
Authority (RPRA). The Blue Box Regulation was also finalized
transitioning recycling services which cover household
packaging and paper items, to an EPR model. In 2022 and beyond,
RPRA is intending to introduce stricter administrative penalties
and enforcement for producers in violation of the requirements
for materials collection under the Resource Recovery and
Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA).
In Quebec, the government proposed amendments to the
Regulation covering recovery of products by enterprises under
the Environment Quality Act. Batteries are proposed to be
included and there are changes to the minimum recovery rates
applicable to products covered by the regulation.
Finally, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Yukon have
introduced parliamentary bills to develop and implement
provincial EPR programs and are currently in the process of
consulting on those proposals. CPCA will file comments on
those programs in the coming weeks to ensure they remain fair,
open, transparent and with as little red tape as possible.
Final " Volatile Organic Compound Concentration
Limits for Certain Products " Regulations
Published in Canada Gazette
In January, the " Volatile Organic Compound Concentration
http://www.cfcm.ca
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine March/April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine March/April 2022
