Blue bin blues: Why recycling in Canada is a big green lie

Guest: Richard Warnica, Business feature writer

Plastic recycling in Ontario has been called a “green lie.” For instance, Canada produced about 1.9 million tonnes of plastic packaging in 2019, according to a recent report commissioned by the Canada Plastics Pact. Of that, the authors estimate just 12 per cent was sent for recycling. Now, things might be changing. Ontario is modernizing the recycling regime in the province, putting more of the onus on companies to deal with their packaging waste. Along with action from Ottawa, now could be the time where we all get more real about recycling and making it actually work.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Matthew Hearn and Raju Mudhar.