Yes, I certainly agree on that point.
Essentially, we have to think of the source of the problem. If the problem is the result of excess pollution of the environment by plastics, the idea of manufacturing plastic that is supposed to degrade in the environment is not necessarily the best approach. The goal should instead be to try to change public behaviour so that kind of plastic doesn't end up in the environment, or to build infrastructures, primarily outside of homes, so people can dispose of their packaging at the right place and not in nature.
There is a lot of talk about biodegradability. We were very pleased to see that the federal government wants to ban the word “biodegradable” as regards plastics. In many cases, they are not in fact biodegradable, unfortunately. In many cases, they become smaller pieces of plastic, microplastics, which end up in the environment or in the human body. I agree that we should not try to replace one thing with another that could result in even worse problems or consequences.
For our part, as I said, we have imposed a penalty in that regard, a malus: Our producers who make products with biodegradable compostable plastics will pay higher contributions to Éco Entreprises Quebec than the companies that do not. We see that as a way of encouraging people to do the right thing, that is, not to use that kind of plastic. I think it is certainly preferable to produce recyclable plastics, that can go through the cycle, as opposed to biodegradable plastics.