Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University

John Pigott

CEO, Club Coffee

Susan Thoman

Managing Director, Compost Manufacturing Alliance

Single-use plastics are now seen as a global crisis. Less than 10% of them are recycled. The rest are sent to landfills, dumped into lakes and oceans, burned for energy (with its own environmental implications), or shipped to countries like the Philippines, which are now pushing them back to us.

The issue stays in the spotlight with every news report of marine animals hurt or killed by plastic in our oceans. Governments are now committing to action and calling for collaboration to get results. The growing importance of partnerships to create innovations such as plant-based compostable packaging can’t be overstated.

Seeking alternatives to single-use plastics 

Over a period of eight months, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, co-authored the recent report, The Single-Use Plastics Dilemma: Perceptions and Possible Solutions. 

“Our recommendation is for the government to actually entice and encourage companies to use compostable technologies, and perhaps even help companies to commercialize these technologies,” says Dr. Charlebois. “Right now, the technologies do exist, but they’re not necessarily accessible financially. Incentives need to be brought forward to make the connection between people who actually need the technology and companies that would benefit from using different packaging.”

The good news is that change is happening. Dalhousie University’s study shows that Canadians are seeking alternative options and looking to composting and packaging-free foods. The big advantage for consumers is simplicity. “It’s convenient,” notes Dr. Charlebois. “Just put your items in a green bin. With recycling, there’s processing that’s necessary and there’s a bit more work, like sorting and cleaning, required from the consumer.”

The amount of single-use plastics, such as coffee pods, is staggering. Billions of pods end up in landfills every year. As one of the world’s top three coffee-loving countries, Canadians want solutions to minimize that waste and divert nutrient-rich coffee grounds back to compost and back to the earth.

Traditional plastic recycling of some pods is an option, but it’s not as easy as consumers would like. They have to separate the foil lid, clean out the grounds, and remove a paper filter inside of the cup, and even that may not be enough for recyclers. A better alternative was needed.

Compostable coffee pods reduce plastic waste

Toronto-based company Club Coffee has risen to the challenge and introduced compostable coffee pods. “We understand that consumers want solutions to single-use plastic waste in our environment,” says company CEO John Pigott. “Listening to them led us to create a compostable coffee pod. We saw many ideas and innovations out there that we could build on in collaboration with academic experts and other partner businesses to make a difference for consumers and the environment.”

Club Coffee’s goal was to give consumers the compostable pod they wanted. “We’re doing that now with Loblaw Companies Limited and other partners,” says Pigott. “That’s just the start. We’re working on more innovations in sustainable packaging that can get us past throwaway plastic for good.”

For its part, Loblaw Companies Limited values collaborations with industry partners to implement innovative solutions that have positive impacts on the environment. “It was incredibly important that we could offer great-tasting, convenient coffee in a more environmentally-responsible packaging format and sell it at the same price as before,” says Ian Gordon, Senior Vice President of Loblaw Brands Limited. “We’re proud to partner with other Canadian companies and to work together to achieve greater results. We’re always bringing innovation to the industry, and there are times, like with PC® Single-Serve Compostable Coffee Pods, where we need to strategically collaborate with partners to succeed.”

Switching to compostable coffee pods can make a significant impact. “Our network of compost facility owners appreciates that extra steps have been taken to field test the disintegration of the compostable pod in various composting processes, as spent coffee is a highly-valued input for making great soil amendments,” says Susan Thoman, Managing Director of the Compost Manufacturing Alliance.

The benefit of strong partnerships and the larger-scale use of compostable and plant-based materials for consumers is that they’ll make newer technology more affordable, as well as more widely available and adopted. As Dr. Charlebois notes, “As a society, we’re going to have to make some choices.” With partnerships and innovations to address the single-use plastic challenge, those choices are clearer.

Ask the Scientist: How Does Composting Work?

Dr. Calvin Lakhan, a Faculty of Environmental Studies researcher at York University in Toronto, offers his thoughts.

How does composting work?

At a very high level, it’s a controlled biological decomposition of organic materials. Microorganisms consume organic material, utilizing carbon as a source of energy and nitrogen as a source of protein that allows them to reproduce.

Why is it important?

Composting helps divert organic material from landfills, and subsequently reduces the carbon footprint associated with untreated organic waste. Perhaps more importantly, it helps promote sustainable behaviour and awareness in consumers.

What can Canadians do?

Households can participate in the Green Bin program offered by some municipalities. In those without one, an at-home composting pile can be set up.

What’s the alternative to plastic single-serve coffee pods?

Compostable pods abate twice as much carbon when compared to plastic pods, and at approximately one-twentieth of the cost. It’s the economically- and environmentally-preferred option.

3 Surprising Facts About Single-Use Plastics

Dalhousie University’s report, The Single-Use Plastics Dilemma: Perceptions and Possible Solutions, contains some riveting findings:

1

Canadians are largely united about the need for change. Almost 94% of respondents are personally motivated to reduce single-use plastic food packaging because of its environmental impacts. Residents of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces are the most motivated.

2

More than 70% said they support a ban of all single-use plastics in food packaging, although adopting new technologies
was preferred to outright bans.

3

Biodegradable and compostable solutions are the most popular with Canadians.

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Mediaplanet: What does the term “circular economy” mean to you, and is reducing waste something you advocate for?

Les Stroud: A circular economy is the ever-turning cycle and flow of goods and services in a way that feeds back into its own system in a kind of positive feedback loop. Reducing is not simply something to advocate for — it’s a necessary way to move forward into the future. There should be a mandated grouping of laws and regulations that industry must abide by in order to reduce waste. 

One of the main topics of discussion right now is the volume of plastic waste in the oceans and in nature at large. How have you seen wastefulness affect nature?

The waste in nature is choking natural systems and the way that they flow and function. It’s interrupting cycles that have been free to morph and ebb and flow for millions of years by bogging them down in materials that the planet isn’t ready to handle, at least not in any kind of expedient manner.

You’ve spoken about how we don’t have enough urgency when it comes to protecting the environment. Do you see more people getting on board to fight climate change?

The number of people — especially younger people — getting on board to fight climate change is growing exponentially to the point where I believe the next revolution will be an environmental one. 

Your music has provided a commentary on the state of the environment and nature. Will you be doing the same with your new album?

Yes — most if not all of my music is connected in some way to nature, to either celebrate it, warn about issues related to it, or bring about a call to action. 

How has your audience responded to the environmental messages in your music?

They seem to respond with great appreciation for the fact that I’m not pulling punches and that I’m saying things that need to be said but aren’t, or are being delivered in soft, safe ways instead of straight and upfront. 

You’ve mentioned before that you drew from the same inspiration for both Survivorman and your music. Do you think reconnecting with nature is the key to getting more minds to change concerning the environment?

I think reconnecting to nature is the only key to getting more minds to change concerning the environment. Nature itself is the ultimate authority if you stop to listen to it. Humans are only facilitators — nature is the teacher. 

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Governments worldwide spend $2 trillion annually on goods and services, which comprises a significant portion of international trade. In Canada, public procurement is valued at $200 billion annually, which represents 15% of our GDP, with 80% taking place provincially and municipally. 

All levels of governments have public policy objectives to support positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Taxpayers also expect prudent and strategic management of the public purse, and that public sector projects and initiatives be tendered to ensure fairness, support competitiveness, and be managed fairly. What progressive governments can do is leverage buying power and integrate circular procurement principles to meet these objectives simultaneously.

Circular procurement is an innovative approach to buying goods and services that structures contracts to focus on function and innovation, minimizing consumption of new materials, maximizing products’ longevity by keeping them in circulation for as long as possible, and extending the value of materials.

The environmental benefits of circular procurement are clear through the integration of low-carbon and waste-reduction requirements in vendor-supplier agreements, but opportunities to encourage innovation, foster unique public and private partnerships, and achieve social objectives that include support for underemployed and local businesses are often overlooked. 

More than 80% of populations live in cities, which are countries’ centres of consumption and have significant carbon footprints. By incorporating circular procurement, local governments are positioned to directly accelerate the circular economy in every region across Canada.

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Mediaplanet: Why is it so important for Canadians to get serious about plastic waste?

Catherine McKenna: Plastics play an important role in our lives — everything from medical equipment to food containers to airplane parts is made up of them. The problem isn’t plastic, though, it’s plastic pollution. Too much plastic is ending up in our environment and in our landfills, instead of being recycled and reused. In fact, less than 10% of the plastic used in Canada gets recycled. This waste has a cost, too. Every year, Canadians throw away $8 billion worth of plastic, wasting resources and creating unnecessary pollution.

How or why did this issue become a priority for the government?

On average, a dump truck-load worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute. It’s expected that by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight. This is a global problem that requires a global solution. During Canada’s G7 presidency last year, we made plastic pollution a priority. Canada launched the Ocean Plastics Charter, which outlines concrete actions to eradicate plastic pollution and recognizes the need for urgent action to address the devastating impacts of marine litter on the health and sustainability of our oceans, seas, coastal communities, and ecosystems. 

As of May 2019, the Charter has been endorsed by 21 governments and 60 businesses and organizations. Canada is contributing $100 million to help developing countries prevent plastic waste from entering the oceans, address plastic waste on shorelines, and better manage existing plastic resources.

On Canada Day last year, we banned microbeads, which are small pieces of plastic that are often found in beauty products and that were ending up in Canada’s freshwater and marine ecosystems.

And we’re leading by example to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in government operations. As one of the biggest purchasers in the country, we’re helping create a market for recycled and reusable goods.

Our approach […] will be guided by science and will closely mirror the actions taken by […] like-minded countries that are banning these single-use plastics wherever good alternatives exist.

How does the Canadian government plan to tackle the issue of plastic waste?

I was proud to announce earlier this month with the Prime Minister that our government is taking two bold new measures to tackle plastic pollution. 

As soon as 2021, Canada will ban harmful single-use plastic products like straws, cutlery, stir sticks, and plates, which science shows is an effective way to reduce plastic pollution. 

Our approach — which includes determining which products fall under the ban and what other measures we could take to reduce plastic waste — will be guided by science and will closely mirror the actions taken by the European Union and other like-minded countries that are banning these single-use plastics wherever good alternatives exist.

We’ll also work in partnership with provinces and territories to fully transfer the responsibility for the collection and recycling of plastic products and packaging from towns and cities to the companies that generate this plastic waste in the first place. Whether we’re talking about plastic bottles or cell phone parts, it’ll be up to businesses to take responsibility for the plastics they’re manufacturing and to ensure they’re recycled properly when they’re no longer useful.

Currently, Canadians throw away $8 billion of plastic material every single year. By recycling or reusing these plastics, we can reduce pollution, generate billions of dollars in revenue, drive innovation, and create approximately 42,000 jobs. It will also save us $500 million in waste management costs.

How will your initiative solve this problem? Will there be stricter regulations for businesses using plastic materials or incentives for consumers?

In 2018, we worked with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to develop the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste. We’ll be convening in Halifax next week and I look forward to building on our progress with an ambitious action plan with all provinces and territories. Canadians care deeply about nature and we are taking action to make sure plastic stays out of our environment and in our economy.

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If there’s one thing that governments could do to enhance paper’s circular economy, it would be to ban used paper and boxes from landfill. And that’s exactly what the paper packaging industry in Canada has been urging provincial governments to do for years.

“There’s no good reason why those boxes should end up in landfill,” says John Mullinder, Executive Director of the Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC). “In landfill, paper gives off carbon dioxide and methane: greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.”

So, get paper out of there! Banning boxes from landfill would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it would also provide a supply of used boxes and paper for the industry’s already existing circular economy.

“It’s not widely appreciated,’’ says Mullinder, “that we hardly use any fresh trees to make packaging in Canada in the first place. People have this mental image that every time we need to make a new box, we just grab a chainsaw and head for the forest.”

It’s not true, he says. Only about 10% of Canadian paper packaging is made directly from trees, and then from independently certified and sustainably managed forests, something that Canada leads the world in. Some is made from what are called “wood residues” (chips, shavings and sawdust left over from logging operations: the lumber being used to make houses, hospitals and schools), but most of it is made from recycled pulp.

If Canadians want a good example of a circular economy already in existence, they should take a closer look at what the paper packaging industry is doing on a daily basis

In fact, says Mullinder, most boxes and cartons made in Canada are 100% recycled content: made from used boxes, cartons and paper collected from the back of factories, supermarkets, office buildings, and from residential Blue Box-type programs. The material is then baled, shipped, and recycled into new packaging that is used to deliver goods to the Canadian or export markets or to ship Canadian products worldwide.

Virtually all Canadians can now recycle paper boxes, bags and cartons. The industry’s environmental council estimates that actual recovery is about 85% nationally, but it’s very hard to get solid numbers. Residential collection systems like the various Blue Box programs across the country have far more detailed information. In Ontario, for example, an amazing 98% of corrugated boxes are collected for recycling. In fact, the Blue Box is really a paper box: 74% of what’s collected is paper in one form or another, and revenues from the sale of that paper ($60 million in 2017) are the single largest financial contribution by any material group.

While the paper packaging industry has a great story to tell on its use of a renewable resource, its high recycled content, and its impressive recovery rates, it has not neglected the design stage upfront to reduce the amount of packaging used in the first place. This has been achieved by light-weighting: designing out flaps, layers, and the airspace between the product and its packaging (called “right-sizing”). At the mill level, several Canadian companies are leading a North American charge to lower basis weights in linerboard.

So, if Canadians want a good example of a circular economy already in existence, they should take a closer look at what the paper packaging industry is doing on a daily basis: minimizing the use of the resource up front, using a renewable resource, and achieving high recycled content and recovery rates. Banning paper and paper boxes from landfill is the next logical — and important environmental — step. But for that, both provincial and municipal governments need to act.

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Greenpeace, along with over 1,400 groups in the global Break Free From Plastic movement, is working to stop plastic waste production and plastic pollution at the source. But it’s not just environmental and social justice groups that are calling for an end to our over-plasticized, throwaway culture. People across Canada and around the world have joined the movement, taking action to reduce their own plastic footprint as well as our cumulative one. We’re seeing the beginnings of a reuse solutions revolution, and we need governments and plastic producers to join it.

Plastic has invaded our drinking water, our food chain, the air we breathe, and all corners of our planet. A dump truck’s worth of plastic enters our oceans every single minute, with devastating impacts on wildlife and their habitats. The situation has reached a global crisis level, and is in need of immediate and bold action. 

Single-use plastic items and packaging are the major sources of the problem, and to solve it we must agree on what makes up this group of waste and pollution generators.

We’re seeing the beginnings of a reuse solutions revolution, and we need governments and plastic producers to join it.

The most problematic and unnecessary plastics that regularly get dumped in landfills, or burned despite recyclability claims, are most often found in the environment, are toxic to human health, or have clear or existing alternatives. These plastics include, but are not limited to: PVC, bags, cups and lids, black plastic, oxo-degradable plastic, bottles, straws, utensils, expanded polystyrene, multilayered wrappers and packaging, and take-out containers. Less than 9% of our plastic is recycled. Throwaway plastic items and packaging make up almost half of all the waste we produce.

For Canada to move into an era of zero plastic waste, and to help curb the global plastic pollution epidemic — and move towards a truly circular economy — we need to create a whole new system with a reduction of these plastics, and all single-use items and packaging, as paramount. We must stop trying to make waste better, and instead not make any at all. We must transform how we produce and consume. Now more than ever, we need a reuse revolution.

More sustainable product delivery systems exist and can be scaled up. Reuse, refill, collaborative consumption, and “product-as-a-service” models are blossoming in all corners of the world. Investments in reuse and these types of models, in lieu of bio-based single-use alternatives and end-of-pipe false solutions, can set us on a better course for future generations. 

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Within this model, the social and environmental impacts of production are taken into account at every stage of a product’s life cycle, effectively designing waste out of the system. This radical, systemic shift has the potential for society-wide benefits, with the opportunity to touch a wide range of issues from resource scarcity to climate change.

Plastics are ubiquitous across a wide variety of industries, from packaging to transportation to the biocompatible plastics used in medicine. Thus, changing the way we approach plastic use is critical to achieving a global circular economy. With the combined effort of manufacturers, retailers, and consumers, it’s possible to establish an environmentally-sustainable, circular life for plastics. 

Keurig Dr Pepper commits to unified corporate responsibility strategy

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) recently announced an ambitious set of goals and a unified corporate responsibility strategy designed to increase its participation in the circular economy across its broad portfolio of products. Uniting under the “Drink Well. Do Good.” platform, KDP is focusing on four key areas where it can have the greatest positive impact: the environment, the supply chain, health and well-being, and communities. KDP will utilize key industry partnerships to achieve its goals across these areas.

“Cooperation multiplies effort exponentially and we know we can maximize our impact through strategic and meaningful partnerships across our corporate responsibility focus areas and our business as a whole,” says Cynthia Shanks, Director of Communications and Sustainability at Keurig Canada. “Creating a more sustainable economy is no small undertaking and we know collaboration will accelerate our pace to reach our collective ambitions.”

With the combined effort of manufacturers, retailers, and consumers, it’s possible to establish an environmentally-sustainable, circular life for plastics.

By 2025, KDP has committed to 100% of its packaging being recyclable or compostable, and also to incorporating at least 30% post-consumer recycled materials across its packaging portfolio, sending zero waste to landfills across its operations, and using 100% renewable electricity, among other goals. 

KDP is a signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an initiative by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation focused on creating a circular economy for plastics. Other key partnerships include The Recycling Partnership, the Closed Loop Fund, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s ReSource: Plastic activation hub, which aims to accelerate action and impact to eliminate plastic waste.

Closing the plastics loop with its best-selling coffee makers

As part of its work on developing a circular economy, KDP is working with the Quebec-based Groupe Lavergne to incorporate post-consumer recycled materials into its coffee makers. Lavergne is providing recycled plastics for use in select Keurig® coffee makers. As KDP and Lavergne work through the challenges of sourcing food-grade recycled plastics for internal parts, the percentage of recycled materials used in these coffee makers is set to increase over time.

In addition, KDP has committed to buying 100% responsibly-sourced coffee by 2020. (KDP has already been the largest purchaser of Fair Trade® coffee in the world for nine consecutive years, through purchases for its own brands and its partner brands.) Additionally, KDP strives to positively impact farmers’ lives through projects that increase farmers’ yield, profitability, and resilience.

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Just a quick glance at the latest news headlines and the situation is clear: plastic pollution is reaching critical levels and destroying the environment at an alarming pace. It’s one of the most urgent issues the world faces, and the statistics are grim. 

Challenging beliefs about recycling

Many Canadians think they’re being environmentally-conscious by sorting their plastics into blue bins, but the truth is less than 10% of plastics are recycled. 50% of single-use plastic water bottles, even recyclable ones, go to landfills, where each bottle takes 450 years to decompose. All the while, they release toxic fumes as they degrade. Even if single-use plastic water bottles manage to avoid landfills, they may be shipped to other countries, burned for fuel, or dumped. 

A better option for both health and environmental reasons is the reusable Brita water pitcher with a Longlast filter, which lasts for up to six months and replaces 900 single-use plastic water bottles. In a year, that potential reaches up to 1,800 bottles (standard 500 ml bottles) with just one standard Brita filter. Those who say they prefer bottled water for its taste will appreciate a Brita filter for its ability to remove the taste and odour of chlorine. Brita also makes tap water healthier by removing contaminants such as cadmium, mercury, lead, and copper.

Shining the spotlight on a critical issue

Brita is proudly at the forefront of boosting consumer awareness about the single-use plastic crisis and pushing for change in buying behaviour. “Our brand’s purpose is to make water better for people and the planet by replacing single-use plastic water bottles,” says Carolyn Hungate, Marketing Manager at Brita, which is one of the brands under The Clorox Company umbrella.

To paint a clearer picture of the issue for consumers, Brita partnered with National Geographic explorer Asher Jay and created a one-of-a-kind exhibit at Toronto’s Union Station in April, 2019, in recognition of Earth Day. Jay created a 12-foot-tall installation entitled “Niagara Now” that recreated the world-famous waterfall out of 900 salvaged plastic water bottles. That number represents the amount consumed and discarded every five minutes in Toronto, and the number of bottles that can be replaced with one Brita Longlast filter. 

The exhibit went beyond helping people visualize the sheer number of bottles used in the city — it also highlighted some intriguing statistics. To showcase the fact that 69% of Canadian households prefer tap water to bottled water, there were 621 painted bottles. Another 108 bottles were partially painted to represent the 12% of households that drink both tap and bottled water, and 171 unpainted bottles demonstrated the small percentage of households that drink only bottled water. The “Niagara Now” exhibit proved to be a popular spot for selfies, but the message was clear: together, we can change the narrative.

Brita has also reached out to consumers with its new ad, “The Beauty Beneath” (catch it on YouTube). “We focused on one single statistic: that it takes 450 years for a single-use plastic water bottle to break down,” notes Hungate. “This really hits home as you see the single-use plastic water bottles falling to the bottom of the lake and collecting there. With Brita, you can replace those plastic bottles in your daily life.”

Some people may wonder what happens to the Brita filters and pitchers when their life cycle has expired. The company works with TerraCycle so that the filters and pitchers can be recycled into items like cutting boards, toothbrushes, and cups. Consumers can drop off their used filters at London Drugs locations in the western provinces, or mail them back (a minimum of three) to Brita for upcycling.

Consumers can make choices when they’re making purchase decisions on whether they’ll choose the environment over the convenience factor. To make a real difference, we all need to collectively start making better choices.

Carolyn Hungate, Brita

Better alternatives to bottled water

Although about 60% of bottled water is consumed at home, there are some users of single-use bottled water who cite portability and convenience as their reasons for buying it. To meet that need, Brita introduced a new premium filtering water bottle that removes the unpleasant odour and taste of chlorine from tap water. It saves money and of course, it also keeps single-use plastic water bottles out of landfills and reduces waste. 

Changes in behaviour can have a significant impact. The Canadian government is playing a role too, having recently announced a ban of single-use plastics that could take effect as early as 2021. Consumers can do their part too, by not buying single-use plastic water bottles and switching to more sustainable options.

As Hungate explains, “Consumers can make choices when they’re making purchase decisions on whether they’ll choose the environment over the convenience factor. To make a real difference, we all need to collectively start making better choices.”

This article was made possible with support from The Clorox Company of Canada.

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