Canada moves ahead with plastics registry as UN plastics pollution session starts in Ottawa

TORONTO (ICIS)–Following the conclusion of a consultation period, Canada’s federal government has published a formal notice in the Canada Gazette for its planned Federal Plastics Registry.

The registry will require plastic resin manufacturers, producers of plastic products and service providers to annually report on the amounts and types of plastic they put out in the market, and where the plastic ends up.

Environment minister Steven Guilbeault said at a webcast press event on Monday that the registry would create an inventory of plastics data, with the objective of providing transparency about the production, distribution, sale, use and disposal of plastics in Canada.

Industry knew what kind of plastics is being produced, to whom it is sold, and how it is used, the minister said.

The registry, in turn, would put this information into one place and make it accessible to the public, researchers and non-governmental organizations, enabling them to track plastics production and plastics use, he said.

The registry would have a similar role in fighting plastic pollution as the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory reports the government uses in combatting emissions, he said, adding that without this information it was hard to tackle these challenges.

The first phase of reporting to the plastics registry’s IT system is due to begin on 29 September 2025.

UN PLASTICS POLLUTION TREATY
In related news, delegates from more than 170 countries on Tuesday gathered in Ottawa for the fourth session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding treaty on containing plastic pollution.

The event runs from 23-29 April.

German chemical producers’ trade group VCI and Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) said they are supporting the fight against plastics pollution.

VCI is looking to INC-4 and a subsequent final INC-5 to be held in South Korea in November for a global commitment to a circular economy, in which plastic products are reused or recycled, rather than ending up as waste in the environment, it said.

At the same time, VCI stressed the benefits of plastics.

An across-the-board “demonization” of plastics would end up harming the climate and the environment, rather than helping it, said VCI director general Wolfgang Grosse Entrup.

“A sustainable future requires plastics,” he said and pointed, as examples, to plastics used in wind turbines, electric vehicles (EV) and packaging – applications in which plastics help avoid carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, he said.

Likewise, CIAC vice president of policy Isabelle Des Chenes told media in a webcast event that plastics, for example, help preserve food.

“There’s a lot of plastic and there’s a lot of plastic for a reason,” she added.

Additional reporting by Tom Brown

Thumbnail photo of environment minister Steven Guilbeault; photo source: government of Canada