PRFLEX: Perfecting the Recycling System for Flexible Plastic Packaging in Canada
Flexible plastic packaging accounts for a significant proportion of plastic packaging used in Canada, but collection and recycling rates remain low. In the context of the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the consortium’s goal is to increase the proportion of recycled content in flexible packaging. To achieve this, sorting and recycling capacities need to be improved across the country, at both sorting centers and recyclers.
A joint initiative of the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP), the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC), Circular Materials, the Circular Plastics Taskforce (CPT), Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ), Recycle BC, and The Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition of The Recycling Partnership, PRFLEX aims at improving the recovery and recycling rates of flexible plastics collected from Canadian households.
The first phase of the PRFLEX study was completed in Fall 2023 and included a detailed assessment of the collection and recycling rates for flexible plastic packaging in each province, as well as a gap analysis of the infrastructure and technologies in material recovery facilities (MRFs) and at recyclers. On December 13, 2023, PRFLEX publicly presented these findings. The presentation and web recording can be found here.
If you have any further questions or would like to participate in the next steps of PRFLEX, please reach out to info@plasticspact.ca or info@gapc.ca.
