Extraction of
Oil and Gas

THE STORY OF PLASTIC
IN CANADA, PART 1

Almost all plastic is made from oil and gas. We start our journey in Canada's West Coast and Prairie regions, where oil and gas extraction mars the landscape, contributes to climate change, and threatens Indigenous ways of life.

99% of plastic is made from oil and gas, and extracting these resources accounts for more than one-quarter of all of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.

Alberta's tar sands are a source of oil for fuel and energy - and, increasingly, plastics.

It's one of the largest and most destructive industrial projects in the world.

It creates toxic waste which is stored in massive reservoirs called tailing "ponds."

Tailing "ponds" have been growing and leaking for decades, polluting the lands and drinking waters of local indigenous communities.

Tailings-Pond-1
Tailings-Pond-2
Tailings-Pond-3
Tailings-Pond-4
Tailings-Pond-5

99% of plastic is made from oil and gas, and extracting these resources accounts for more than one-quarter of all of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.

Alberta's tar sands are a source of oil for fuel and energy - and, increasingly, plastics.

It's one of the largest and most destructive industrial projects in the world.

It creates toxic waste which is stored in massive reservoirs called tailing "ponds."

Tailing "ponds" have been growing and leaking for decades, polluting the lands and drinking waters of local Indigenous communities.

alert

To ignore the plastic pollution crisis is to ignore the devastation that oil extraction and toxic tailings create for members of the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Northern Alberta. Their food sources, ways of life and languages are at risk.

Play
Pause

Take Action

HOLD IMPERIAL OIL ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR TOXIC TAILINGS DISASTER

Add your voice in solidarity with Indigenous communities impacted by the tar sands toxic waste. Enough is enough. This decades-long toxic takeover of the environment and Indigenous lands must not go unchecked.

Pipelines

The story of plastic
in Canada, Part 2

PART 1

Extraction of
Oil and Gas
PART 2

Pipelines
PART 3

Refining and
Manufacturing
PART 4

Everyday Use
PART 5

Disposal
PART 6

Microplastics

The Story OF

Plastic In Canada

When people think of plastic pollution, they tend to think of litter and landfills or the ocean garbage patches. But plastic pollution begins long before the landfill and continues long after. Every single stage of the lifecycle of plastic, from the extraction of oil and gas to the disposal of plastic waste, causes harm to our environment and our health. It's time to look at the big picture.

 

Every single stage of the lifecycle of plastic, from the extraction of oil and gas to the disposal of plastic waste, causes harm to our environment and our health. It's time to look at the big picture.

 

This is the life cycle of plastic-from cradle to grave.

Introduction
Conclusion
Help end plastic waste