PPEC Delivers 2026 Environmental Outlook: EPR, Plastics, And PFAS BY RACHEL KAGAN From the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, to plastics policy in flux, the pending CUSMA review, PFAS, and environmental claims, these are some of the environmental issues the Paper and Pa- perboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) will be watching in the year ahead. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – a policy ap- proach where producers are financially and operationally responsible for managing the recycling of their packaging – continues to evolve across Canada, while new EPR laws are being introduced across the United States. Together, these developments are increasing costs and complexity across the packaging value chain. In Canada, the most recent shift is in Ontario, where the Blue Box program transitioned from a municipally operat- ed system with partial producer funding to a full producer responsibility model. As of January 1, 2026, obligated pro- ducers are 100% financially and operationally responsible for residential packaging and paper recycling. As programs transition and expand, challenges, and learning curves are inevitable in a complex recycling sys- tem with multiple stakeholders and overlapping regulato- ry requirements. EPR is not a simple policy to explain or implement. As a result, media coverage and stakeholder communications will not always capture its full complexity, even as EPR reshapes recycling systems and influences packaging decisions across North America. EPR can be expected to remain a widely discussed issue in 2026. Plastics Canada’s plastics policy framework remains in flux. While the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations re- main in force, the legal foundation underpinning the fed- eral approach continues to be challenged. The Federal Court of Appeal has not yet issued its decision in Respon- sible Plastic Use Coalition v. Canada, a case that raises questions about the federal government’s designation of “plastic manufactured items” as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Although the ban remains in effect pending the Appeal, this ongoing legal uncertainty can make it harder for busi- nesses to make decisions about packaging design and material choices. Globally, negotiations toward a UN Global Plastics Trea- ty will continue in 2026. Canada, as a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, reiter- ated its commitment to a global agreement when the G7 Environment Ministers met last fall and “reaffirmed their constructive engagement towards an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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