Thank you, Mr. Chair, and to the entire committee for inviting me.
My name is Manju Misra. I am a professor and tier 1 Canada research chair in sustainable biocomposites at the University of Guelph.
I would like to say a special hello to MP Longfield, who has visited our lab, the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, on many occasions and is familiar with our work.
Sustainable materials development for green manufacturing supporting the circular economy is the focus of our centre. Currently, the world produces around 450 million tonnes of plastics per year. That will double to about one billion tonnes per year by 2050. Today, 50% of the plastic produced is for single-use only. This is why I believe that action on single-use plastics destined for landfill is critical. When left in the environment, plastic does not biodegrade, but instead breaks down to smaller parts, including microplastics, and has a devastating impact on ecosystems, which we all know. About 90% of Canada's plastic waste is not recycled or recovered. We need alternative solutions now.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new plastic economy initiative has set actionable targets to reach 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. The good news is that leading Canadian companies have joined this initiative through the Canada Plastics Pact. To support these efforts, our research at the University of Guelph focuses on using biodegradable and compostable materials as commercial alternatives to single-use plastics.
For the committee's consideration, I would like to highlight three key material segments that should be targeted. These represent over 80% of the single-use plastic waste.
The first is packaging with mixed materials that combine plastic, paper and metals. Examples include single-serve coffee pods, yogourt and ice cream containers, and recyclable packaging with glued-on labels, which are destined for landfill. Our centre facilitated the successful launch of the world's first fully compostable coffee pod with Canadian industry partners Loblaws, Club Coffee, Competitive Green Technologies and Fourmark. It's a classic example of industry-academia collaboration with support from the government. So far, over one billion of these compostable pods have already been used in Canada.
The second segment is multi-layer protective films that recycling facilities cannot separate and therefore don't get recycled. Examples include Tetra Paks, chips and cookie bags. Our centre has developed a compostable solution with extremely high barrier and improved shelf life for food and pharmaceutical packaging.
Third and most importantly are items that are impractical to recycle even though they are mono-materials, like disposable cutlery, straws and takeout containers. Compostable alternatives exist and work is under way at our centre, with some products already in the marketplace, such as straws and stirrers.
Targeting compostable alternatives in these three areas is a real opportunity to position Canada as a global leader in sustainability, which would result in economic prosperity for all Canadians.
Achieving what I have just outlined requires investment to create innovation in the existing manufacturing and packaging industries; re-tooling as needed; infrastructure development for the end-of-life disposal; modernization of industrial composting facilities; and government-led requirements for certifications and labelling. Finally, skilled HQP development, along with consumer education, is essential.
The government, through policy and incentives, can accelerate this much-needed transition to sustainable resource management and a healthier environment.
Thank you for this opportunity on the eve of when we all in the world are observing Earth Day.
Thank you.