PPEC Releases 2022 Recycled Content Survey

Recent media articles on the potential of paper packaging to replace some of the single-use plastic items being banned in Canada, such as shopping bags and take-out food containers, miss the bigger picture of waste management and consumption in Canada.

In recent months, the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) has been seeing a concerning trend of some governments choosing to ban paper bags.

Paper-based packaging continues to be a success story in Ontario’s household Blue Box program, as measured by marketed tonnage, based on new data released by the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA), the regulator mandated by the Government of Ontario to enforce the province’s circular economy laws.

The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) monitors environmental issues impacting the Canadian paper packaging industry, especially recycling, since recycled paper-based materials are an important supply of our industry’s feedstock.

Sustainable forest management is essential to the Canadian paper-based packaging industry and its circular economy.

There continues to be increased global activity and enforcement around environmental claims and greenwashing, the practice of making false or misleading environmental sustainability claims.

February 9, 2023 - It is National Pizza Day today, and the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) wants to celebrate by reminding you that pizza boxes are recyclable in Canada.

Corrugated boxes are a valuable form of packaging with a wide range of benefits. They protect the contents, keep the package safe during delivery, and provide necessary information about the product inside.

As the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) continues to work on achieving its mission to promote the environmental sustainability of the Canadian paper packaging industry, we will also be closely monitoring the following key issues in 2023:

In the November 28_^th New York Times Magazine article, Where Does All the Cardboard Come From? I Had to Know, writer Matthew Shaer does a deep dive on what he refers to as the “cardboard economy” – everything from the history of who invented it, how it’s made, and its global marketplace.

On November 15, 2022, Statistics Canada released the results of its biennial Waste Management Survey, containing waste diversion data for 2020, broken down by material type and diversion source (residential and non-residential).

PPEC is pleased to help answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the environmental attributes of Canadian-made paper-based packaging.

Earlier this year, the Circular Innovation Council announced that October marks the inaugural Circular Economy Month.

The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) has enjoyed celebrating National Forest Week (NFW), which took place this week (September 18-24, 2022), as the sustainable management of Canada’s forests is fundamental to PPEC and its members.

There have been a lot of recent developments related to Canada’s Zero Plastic Waste Agenda and the federal government’s ban on single-use plastic products, which is why it is a perfect time to share this blog examining some of the latest news, key activities, and the potential impacts on the paper packaging industry.

On April 7, 2022, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Canada’s 2022 Budget. The federal government’s environmental and climate change initiatives are outlined in Chapter 3 of the budget, including the proposal to establish a $55.1 million Old Growth Nature Fund to conserve and protect British Columbia’s old growth forests.

On March 19, the Toronto Star published The Ford government is overhauling Ontario’s blue box recycling program — and critics say it will be a disaster, by Business Feature Writer Richard Warnica.

With today’s International Day of Forests, the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) would like to explain how sustainable forest management is critical to the circular economy of Canada’s paper packaging industry, and share the latest developments related to how forests can help mitigate climate change.

It is National Pizza Day on February 9, 2022, and the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) wants to celebrate by reminding you that pizza boxes are recyclable in Canada! You thought we were going to say eat pizza, right? You can do that, too, but don’t forget to recycle that box once you’re done!

On November 4, 2021, the Competition Bureau archived Environmental claims: A guide for industry and advertisers, stating that: