WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WISCONSIN: Wisconsin businesses involving in sustainability or recycling could play a role in the transformation.
Canada wants to create a circular economy—one that minimizes waste and greenhouse gases, improves sustainability, and facilitates economic growth.
Instead of the conventional economy that involves a linear process of extraction, production, consumption, and eventual disposal—or “take, make, and waste”—a circular economy aims to maximize value and eliminate waste by improving the design of materials, products, services, systems, and business models. It calls for using more recycled materials and renewable resources, shifting from waste management to resource recovery.
A November 2022 report by CSA Group said Canada commonly ranks within the top 10 waste-producing countries globally. The 2022 Global Waste Index reported that Canadians disposed of 706 kg (1,556 pounds) of waste per capita that year, and most of it wound up in landfills.
The report pointed to four areas where the possibilities for reducing waste are most promising: plastics, food, textiles and apparel, and the construction industry. The report said, for example, that 86% of plastics and 84% of demolition waste end up in landfills.
A team of government, nonprofit, and business leaders presented the Circular Economy Action Plan for Canada in 2023 to chart an implementation framework to provide a better understanding of the circular economy concept, guide strategy, and track progress.
Canada’s government said one way it is working toward a circular economy is by focusing on reducing waste in the plastics industry, with a goal of having zero plastic waste by 2030. The government is exploring ways to encourage remanufacturing and to reuse plastics in electronics.
A summit on the circular economy will be held in Montreal in April 2025.
Wisconsin companies involved in recycling or sustainability could find interest in their products and services in Canada.
