PITCH-IN CANADA
Media Resources

Canadians should not be fooled to think
their Packaging Waste has been Reduced

VANCOUVER: Canadians shouldn't be fooled to think they have successfully reduced the amount of packaging they dispose of says PITCH-IN CANADA in response to a report released by the Canadian Council of Environment Ministers (CCME) which states that Canada has exceeded its targets for packaging waste reduction four years ahead of schedule.

"Although the weight of packaging sent for disposal has been reduced 51 percent compared to baseline estimates established in 1988 by the CCME National Packaging Task Force, we need to understand that weight is not a very useful tool to examine the impact of packaging on the environment. Furthermore, current gains were primarily made at the front-end by industry which reduced their shipping, manufacturing and distribution waste while local governments are still holding the bag when it comes to the expense of disposing consumer packaging," says Valerie Thom, Executive Director, PITCH-IN CANADA.

"When we examine the volume of packaging sold to Canadians as they shop for food and other necessities you find that there are still many places where we can reduce the amount of packaging and that the situation hasn't really changed that much," adds Thom. "It's household waste which continues to clog our municipal waste stream, litter our streets, take-up more and more landfill space, pollute our water tables and increase waste disposal costs for municipalities and consumers."

According to the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), a voluntary group comprised of representatives from governments, industry, consumer and environmental groups, Canada exceeded its year 2000 target to reduce the weight of packaging sent for disposal four years ahead of schedule. The target is one of three milestones identified in the National Packaging Protocol, a voluntary commitment to turn around Canada's packaging waste generation and disposal practices.

The Protocol created six packaging policies for Canada and voluntarily set as its main target a 50 percent reduction in packaging sent for disposal by the year 2000. The first target of a 20 percent reduction by 1992 was exceeded by one percent. This achievement translated into 1.17 tonnes less aluminum, glass, paper, plastic, steel and wood going to disposal. The second target was set for 1996 at 35 percent and the third target was 50 percent reduction by the wnd of 2000.

The 1996 results revealed that the weight of disposed packaging fell from 5.41 million tonnes in 1988 to 2.64 million tonnes in 1996, representing a 56 percent reduction on a per-capita basis. The year 2000 target was exceeded despite an 11 percent increase in Canada's population. The most significant gains in packaging reduction were on the shipping, manufacturing and distribution side - which represented 60 percent of packaging used in 1988, compared to 40 percent for consumer packaging.

Members of the CCME representing consumer and environmental groups state that "there have been major steps in reducing packaging waste, especially the packaging used by industry to ship and distribute products, but the amount and types of packaging reaching the consumer and the curbside have not changed nearly as much". The non-governmental members of the Task Force stress that now is not the time to stop acting to achieve further reduction, reuse and recycling.

The non-governmental representatives point out that the survey only measured the weight of packaging diverted or disposed of, while the more fundamental policy objective of the original National Packaging Ptrotocol was to ensure that packaging have minimal effect on the environment. "The weight of material landfilled or incinerated is not a true measure of environmental impact," said Don Wedge of the Montreal-based environmental group STOP. "The more critical task has always been to reduce the environmental impacts arising from energy use, toxins and pollutants released at every stage in the production, transport and disposal of oackaging and the unnecessary depletion of, especially non-renewable, resources."

The trend for consumer goods packaging to be made thinner and lighter and the shift from heavier to lighter materials have been pointed to as major factors in Canada's reduction in packaging weight. But this has not always been an environmental gain. "The dramatic loss of refillable bottle systems and the equally large shift to the use of plastics for all manner of packaging may reduce weight but has increased the number and volume of packages stressing municipal collection systems and recycling programs, " said John Jackson, Coordinator of the Citizens' Network on Waste Management in Kingston, Ontario.

According to Ruth Lotzkar, Chair of the Consumers' Association of Canada Environment Network Committee, "Many materials are still difficult to recycle and the cost burden of municipal programs is still squarely on the shoulders of taxpayers and consumers. We believe that those who produce packaging should bear the largest part of this cost and have the incentive to seek environmentally preferred alternatives."

PITCH-IN CANADA, founded in Victoria in 1967, has been actively stressing the need for consumers to make personal choices by rejecting goods which are over-packaged, purchasing materials which are reusable and refillable and ensuring that waste which can not be recycle or composted be disposed of in a proper manner. The organization was an active participant, in 1969, in ensuring passage of North America's first 'bottle bill' which placed refunds on soft-drink and beer containers sold in British Columbia.

For more information about PITCH-IN CANADA programs and suggestions on how Canadians can be part of the waste management solution contact PITCH-IN CANADA at their website at www.pitch-in.ca. Individuals interested in becoming involved in National PITCH-IN CANADA Week, May 4-10, 1998, can receive free information vy sending a SASE ($0.71) to Box 45011, Ocean Park RPO, White Rock, BC., V4A 9L1.

-30-