Population Access to the Recycling of Post Consumer Plastic Packaging in Canada Prepared for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association June 2013  

Comparison with US Study prepared by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. The American study by Moore Recycling Plastic Recycling Collection National Reach Study: 2012 update was conducted at the end of 2012 and updated with information from New York in early 2013. The study used 2010 U.S. City and County Populations data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Program Data was collected by internet and phone calls to determine which plastics were collected in each city and county’s primary recycling program. The 2013 CM Consulting study Population access to the recycling of post consumer plastic packaging in Canada was conducted over the same time frame and also updated with new information from programs that grew in early 2013. The CM Consulting Study uses 2011 population data from Statistics Canada Census. Like the US Study, Program Data was collected using internet searches and phone calls.

Comparison with US Study The CM Consulting study used the same material types as the study by Moore Recycling Associates. Due to differences in the way Canadian and US programs are run, CM Consulting made the following adjustments: Many Canadian programs do not accept caps of typical bottles. For this reason CM Consulting removed ‘and caps’ from the definition of several categories, such as “PET bottles/jugs & jars with caps”. Caps were then added as a distinct material category. CM Consulting also added more specificity into the “Bottles and Jugs” categories by separating out “PET Beverage Bottles” and “HDPE Beverage Bottles” into individual categories CM Consulting also included a category for “Film and Bags” and another separate category for “Horticultural Rigid Plastic”

Canada National Access Rates – Specific resins and container types

Canada Access rates for specific materials, 2009, 2011, and 2013

Canada Highlights of year-to-year comparison Access for PET non-bottle rigid packaging (such as trays or bakery clamshells), is now up to 89% an increase from 83% in 2011. The rate for plastic bags and other films is now 61%, up from 56% in 2011. The rate for Expanded Polystyrene (Styrofoam) rose to 30% from 2009 to 2011 and has held steady since.

Comparison with US Study The Moore Study also categorized each program into broader material categories, for example, “All Rigid Plastic” or “All Bottles and Specific Plastics” The purpose of this type of analysis was to determine an access rate for categories of materials regardless of resin type. For example, What percent has access to recycling of “All Containers” CM Consulting added one category to this analysis because several Canadian programs would not properly fit into any of the Moore Recycling Associates categories. The new category is “All PET, HDPE, and PP bottles and containers”

Canadian Programs by Categories of Materials The analysis shows that 95% of Canadians have access to recycling all PET and HDPE bottles and that 53% of Canadians have access to recycling all rigid containers.

Canada Access, Nationally, and by Province, to recycling of bottles, Jugs, and Jars, by resin.

Canada Access, Nationally, and by Province, to recycling of non-bottle rigid containers, by resin.

Canada Access, Nationally, and by Province, to recycling of other specific plastic materials

Canada Return to Retail Recycling Moore Associates Recycling Inc. also prepared a study to determine the percent of Americans who live within 10 Miles (16 Km) of a retail store that accepts plastic bags and other films from consumers for recycling. CM Consulting is presently working on a similar study that will show access, as defined by residence within 16 km of a participating retailer, to recycling of plastic carry-out shopping bags at return-to-retail locations.