Environment committee  Yes, there's the one with BPA.

Environment committee  Was it fibres? Packaging fibres? Paper?

Environment committee  It can be a function of the strength of the Canadian market. Under extended producer responsibility programs, I've seen countries deny market access to products because they didn't meet EU packaging directive requirements. That directive has in fact become an ISO standard. I've seen countries including the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom issue penalties or refuse market access outright.

Environment committee  The only thing I would add is that everything we've talked about needs to be done in conjunction with industry and the scientific community. What lawmakers focus on is regulation and standardization, but it has to be fact-based to ensure the right substitutions or changes in behaviour are made.

Environment committee  Quickly, I can tell you that there are strategies. Repair is much more focused on product sustainability than on packaging. Some eco-design and circular economy strategies don't necessarily lend themselves to packaging. Reduction at the source is definitely the way to go. That's why we provide training and guidance to companies when it comes to reducing packaging or optimizing the recycling process.

Environment committee  A number of start-ups exist right now. They need help moving into the next phase and accessing a larger supply of recyclable content. That content also has to be able to make its way to those companies. Some of them are no longer start-ups, but they have not yet reached the point of developing and applying their processes at the industrial level.

Environment committee  Those are indeed ambitious objectives for the industry. It must be understood that there is a change in the industry. When we talk about retailers or manufacturers, they can all put undue pressure on themselves. Will Unilever wait for those targets or will it put pressure on its suppliers to be able to reach those targets in terms of recyclability and recycled content?

Environment committee  It can provide financial support for research and development on end of life, sorting and recycling of packaging. It can also facilitate transparency through a traceability system for recycled content, a bit like what's being done with sustainable fishing and other sectors. We should know where the recycled material comes from through quality controls to secure a quality-based supply.

Environment committee  If I may comment on this issue, we have to look at the rate of recovery. It was mentioned earlier: the rate of recovery of PET bottles, for example, is nearly 70%. A deposit will not strongly encourage people to bring the bottle back, especially if the bottle ends up in the same type of system.

Environment committee  I don't have any figures, but it is clear that our packaging industry is not flourishing. In Quebec and in Canada, we are very good at manufacturing certain types of packaging, but it is certain that a lot of supply will come from the United States or from overseas, as far as Asia.

Environment committee  Absolutely. In closing, I would say that molecular recycling opens the door to the recycling of other plastics outside the packaging industry. We are talking about plastics found in basic products such as children's toys, for example. There is not a lot of infrastructure currently to process those types of plastic products.

Environment committee  I will try to answer you quickly, as I could say a million things on this topic. We need to do more research to find out what is found in plastic packaging, as that information is not currently accessible. Our French counterparts at Citeo are currently doing testing on opaque PET.

Environment committee  Yes. Plastic is a material that behaves similarly to fibre packaging. A fibre gets shorter with every recycling cycle. So you start with one sheet of paper and turn it into a product with an increasingly short fibre, up to egg packaging, for example. For plastic, the situation is the same, its fibres will get shorter with every cycle, once mechanical recycling has been initiated.

Environment committee  To follow up on Mr. Cantin's comments, I would say that we should consider North America and Europe. You are talking about free trade. However, it is certain that our products can be exported to Europe. So they should meet the requirements of the European Commission, which has taken circular economy and the issue of plastics and single-use products seriously.

Environment committee  Like I was saying earlier, we can agree on the ultimate goal we want to achieve, such as a certain rate of recovery, recycling and integration of recycled content. Various provinces must be given the opportunity and flexibility to implement mechanisms to achieve their objectives.