Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada

This report quantifies the economic costs of eight common single-use plastic items in Canada, affecting waste management, wastewater infrastructure, and ecosystems. It highlights a critical lack of item-level data and recommends incorporating volumetric measurements into waste audits. To assist municipalities in evidence-based policy making, the report introduces a Plastic Waste Cost Calculator for estimating and comparing costs across multiple waste streams.

• Single-use plastics in Canada generate economic costs that extend beyond simple disposal, impacting municipal waste systems, wastewater infrastructure, litter cleanup, and ecosystem goods and services.
• Canada's ability to inform policy and assess costs is hindered by a lack of consistent, item-level data regarding single-use plastics across recycling, garbage, litter, and wastewater streams.
• Because of the low weight relative to the volume of plastics, the report suggests that reporting systems and waste audits should use volumetric measurements alongside weight-based tracking.
• The report provides a Plastic Waste Cost Calculator designed for authorities and municipalities to aggregate, compare, and estimate plastic waste management costs across various waste streams to support evidence-based policy development.

APA

Haney,, M. P. K. (2026). Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/economic-cost-plastic-waste-canada

Chicago

Haney,, Marina Puzyreva,Emily Kroft,Jacob. Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/economic-cost-plastic-waste-canada.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haney, |first1=Marina Puzyreva,Emily Kroft,Jacob |title=Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 June 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/economic-cost-plastic-waste-canada |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haney2026economic, author = {Haney,, Marina Puzyreva,Emily Kroft,Jacob}, title = {{Economic Cost of Plastic Waste in Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/economic-cost-plastic-waste-canada}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }