Determining the Economic Cost of Single-Use Plastic Waste in Canada
Single-use plastics create costs for waste management systems, wastewater infrastructure, litter cleanup, and ecosystems across Canada. This report quantifies the impacts of eight common single-use plastic items, identifies gaps in waste tracking, and presents recommendations and a practical cost calculator to support improved policy and management decisions.
Key Messages
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Single-use plastics generate costs across municipal waste systems, wastewater infrastructure, litter cleanup activities, and ecosystem goods and services, creating impacts that extend beyond disposal.
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Canada lacks consistent, item-level data on single-use plastics across garbage, recycling, wastewater, and litter streams, limiting the ability to accurately assess costs and inform policy decisions.
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Because plastics occupy significant space relative to their weight, waste audits and reporting systems should incorporate volumetric measurements alongside weight-based tracking.
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The report introduces a Plastic Waste Cost Calculator that enables municipalities and other authorities to estimate, aggregate, and compare plastic waste management costs across multiple waste streams.
Single-use plastics are often lightweight and inexpensive to produce, but their disposal creates substantial costs for waste management systems, wastewater treatment facilities, litter cleanup efforts, and ecosystems. Despite growing concern about plastic pollution, limited data exists on the quantities and costs associated with specific single-use plastic products in Canada.
This report examines eight commonly used single-use plastic items and estimates their economic impacts across waste management pathways and ecosystem goods and services. The analysis draws on municipal waste data, wastewater sector input, citizen science litter data sets, and ecosystem impact research to provide a comprehensive assessment of the costs associated with plastic pollution.
The report also presents a practical tool for municipalities and other authorities to estimate and track plastic waste management costs, supporting evidence-based decision making and policy development.
Participating experts
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