That's a very good question, Mr. Blanchette-Joncas.
I'll give you an example. I'm working with a company today that uses different plastic films, such as LDPE films, which are simple, meaning they don't contain any other resin. Previously, this company also used multilayered films, that is, films made up of multiple layers of polypropylene and polyethylene, for example, to ensure the preservation of the packaged product. In Quebec, we've managed to find people who manufacture packaging composed of a single material with the same properties, not only for food preservation, but also for health and beauty products. So we do have some very interesting resources. We're still working on both aspects, meaning what is recyclable and what is recycled.
One of the most important things is testing. Here, I'm talking about science on the ground.
First, we conduct in situ tests to see if a product works, if it's clean enough, if it's made from the same resin and if it's recyclable.
Second, we do lab tests to see if the new packaging with just one material preserves the products as well as the old packaging. So it's a scientific effort that we are conducting with people from the Institute of Packaging Technology and Food Engineering and the Industrial Ecology Technology Transfer Centre, among others. We make sure that the shelf life of products is adequate for consumers.
Third, we do in situ testing using producer equipment. Today, most of the resins used to make standard packaging come from India or elsewhere in Asia, whereas here, we have literally the best recyclable and recycled material possible. Yes, the other options may cost less right now, since the wave of extended producer responsibility has only just started and producers have to pay 100% of the system costs. However, it will soon become much cheaper to use recyclable and recycled materials.
I'm focusing on recycled content, as the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment did in 2021 by calling for recycled content targets, like California, which has set a target of 25% to 30% for all packaging. There have been some steps taken in Colorado as well. That's what I heard last week when I was at the Canadian Stewardship Conference. Some states in the U.S. are really starting to set concrete targets for recycled content, and we need to do that as well.