Ending Plastic Pollution – A Call to Action

End Plastic Pollution to Protect the Environment and People in Canada: A Call to Action

The federal government must reinvigorate action to end plastic pollution to protect the natural environment and health of people in Canada while aligning within growing global trade alliances.

Plastics and their toxic chemical additives pollute soil, air, water and our bodies, harming human and environmental health. Plastic pollutes at every phase of its existence, from production to use to disposal resulting in health and environmental cleanup costs of about $80 billion per year.¹

Canada is the world’s second highest user of plastic on a per person basis.² All this unnecessary plastic contributes to climate change and habitat degradation—primary drivers of biodiversity loss. It also imposes disproportionate harm on those living next to production and disposal facilities, often low-income and Indigenous and racialized communities.

The government’s 2026 win at the Federal Court of Appeal reaffirms that it can and must act to prevent toxic plastic pollution in Canada. Over the next three years, we ask that the government use tools in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and financial resources to:

1. Shift away from harmful, single-use plastics in key waste-producing sectors such as food, beverage and grocery, hospitality and deliveries between businesses, and work with emerging trade partners to prioritize safe and sustainable packaging systems:
   1. Require major companies in these sectors to work together to reduce packaging waste and develop efficient and environmentally-sound alternatives to single-use plastics.
   2. Support industry Golden Design Rules for packaging, including phasing out PVC, polystyrene, carbon black, and overwrap.
   3. Align with prohibitions in the European Union (EU) packaging regulation (produce packaging, on-site dining).
   4. Align with recycling, collection, and refill targets in the EU packaging regulation.
2. Support people’s health and longevity by eliminating harmful groupings of chemical additives, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (aka PFAS), phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants and UV stabilizers in food packaging, textiles, and children’s toys.
3. Support targeted sectors to create jobs in the circular economy with Canadian-made solutions while disincentivizing the wasteful linear economy:
   1. Allocate federal funding (including a portion of the Strategic Response Fund) to support the development of effective and accessible reuse and refill systems for food packaging and the phasing out of single-use plastic packaging.
   2. End all subsidies to fossil fuel, petrochemical and waste companies.
   3. Create financial incentives to replace disposal products with refillable and reusable alternatives.
4. Continue to lead on the international stage by bringing together aligned countries to end plastic pollution using a legally-binding global treaty that prioritizes upstream policy measures, integrates human health protections, respects Indigenous rights, and guarantees the participation of Indigenous people in its implementation.

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¹ Estimate for Canada based on US study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10783259/ 

² See: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/per-capita-demand-for-major-plastics-in-selected-countries-in-2015

Previous versions of this call to action are linked below:

Ending Plastic Pollution – A Call to Action (2025)