Canada launches consultation on combating plastic waste in textile sector

Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, has launched a consultation to gather input on developing an action plan to address plastic waste and pollution from the textile and apparel sector. The move is part of a comprehensive government of Canada strategy to reduce plastic waste and pollution and increase the circularity of the textile and apparel industry, ensuring that these materials stay in the economy and do not end up in the environment.

Textiles are the fifth largest category of plastic waste going to landfill in Canada. In addition, synthetic clothing sheds plastic microfibers through regular wear and washing, contributing to microplastic pollution. The consultation document suggests a waste management approach that keeps textiles and clothing in the circular economy for as long as possible, focusing on redesign, reduction, reuse, repair and recycling, rather than energy recovery and landfill, the Canadian government said in a news release.

Canadians and stakeholders are invited to comment on the consultation document and provide feedback until September 1, 2024. Comments will help inform a draft action plan to be released later this year.

In Canada, textile collection and recycling is currently very limited, with about 98 per cent of plastic textile waste ending up in landfills. Annually, about 878 tonnes of microfibres are released from synthetic textiles during washing into freshwater and marine waters in Canada and the U.S. In 2020, about 290 kilotonnes of synthetic textile products (such as polyester, nylon, PVC and acrylic) were purchased in Canada, and about 280 kilotonnes were discarded as waste, according to Statistics Canada’s Physical Flow Account for Plastic Material.

Since 2018, the Government of Canada has been working with organizations and key stakeholders to advance research on microfiber pollution, assess waste reduction challenges and opportunities, and pilot recycling and waste reduction programs in the textile and apparel sector. The Canadian Federal Plastics Registry will collect data on plastics in textiles, including volumes entering the market and their management at end-of-life. Working with the textile and apparel sector to develop and implement targeted solutions is key to Canada’s ambitious plan to reduce plastic waste and pollution. The plan aims to transition to a circular economy for plastics through a range of actions across the plastics life cycle.

“After welcoming the world last April in Ottawa for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, we are more committed than ever to ending plastic waste and pollution in our country. We are now looking at how we can prevent textile and clothing waste from ending up in landfill, being incinerated or entering the environment as pollutants. Addressing plastic waste and pollution across all sectors of our economy is key to protecting the planet and creating a greener and more prosperous future, while keeping plastic in the economy and out of the environment,” he said. Steven Guilbeault.

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, has launched a consultation to develop an action plan to address plastic waste in the textile and apparel sector. The initiative, part of Canada’s Strategy to Enhance Circularity, invites feedback until September 1, 2024. Textiles are a significant contributor to microplastic pollution in Canada.

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