Paper accounted for 36% of all waste diverted from Canadian landfills last year
Roughly 3.5 million tonnes of newsprint, cardboard and boxboard, and mixed paper were moved to recycling streams
Statistics Canada recently released the results of its Waste Management Survey, which includes national waste diversion data for 2023. The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) breaks down the numbers with a focus on paper fibre diversion, discusses the latest plastic figures in the context of recent federal election platforms, and highlights the importance of recycling data.
2023 Waste Management Survey: Paper fibres lead the way in diversion
The new data shows that Canadian households and businesses diverted 9,840,488 tonnes of waste in 2023, and of the total amount diverted, 3,516,380 tonnes were paper fibres, which include newsprint, cardboard and boxboard, and mixed paper.
Paper fibres made up the largest share of diverted materials, accounting for 36 percent of all waste diverted from Canadian landfills in 2023.
The next largest category of diverted materials, at 31 percent, are organic materials, which include food waste, yard waste, and other organics such as wood and agricultural materials. Of the 3,060,604 tonnes of diverted organic materials, more than half (1,597,439 tonnes or 52 percent) were food waste, diverted mostly from residential sources.
Digging deeper into the paper data, of the 3.51 million total tonnes of fibre diverted in Canada in 2023, 43 percent was diverted through residential sources (i.e., Blue Box-type residential packaging recycling programs), while the remaining 57 percent was diverted through non-residential sources (i.e., Industrial Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sector).
A closer look at the data by province and source show that Ontario and Quebec — Canada's two most populous provinces, representing over 60 percent of the population — were responsible for the majority of paper fibre diversion. Together, they accounted for 69 percent of the total tonnes diverted (2,429,302 of 3,516,380).
Plastic diversion and the federal election
Of the 9.8 million total tonnes of materials diverted in 2023, 376,444 tonnes were plastic materials sent to material recycling facilities (MRFs), where recyclables are sorted and prepared for sale. This represents 3.8 percent of total diversion, with the majority (74 percent) of plastics diverted from residential sources.
The Government of Canada has taken steps to address plastic waste through its Zero Plastic Waste Agenda, the Single-use Plastics Prohibitions Regulations, and the newly launched Federal Plastics Registry. Additional regulatory proposals are under consideration, including minimum recycled content requirements and federal labelling rules.
It's also worth noting that the Canadian federal election is taking place on April 28. While the Liberal Party Platform does not reference plastics or waste management, the Conservative Party Platform commits to ending the federal ban on single-use plastic products, and the NDP Party Platform mentions plastics only in the context of toxic chemicals.
Additionally, a new U.S. trade report — highlighted in a recent Toronto Star article — identifies Canada's Zero Plastics Waste Agenda as a potential barrier to trade. It remains to be seen how this may impact Canada's approach to managing plastics.
For now, Canada's federal ban on certain single-use plastics remains in effect, pending the outcome of an appeal before the Federal Court of Appeal.
Reducing plastic waste — and more broadly, increasing overall waste diversion — is not only an environmental imperative, but it also makes good business sense.
Paper packaging's circular economy and the importance of data
For Canada's paper packaging industry, environmental sustainability isn't new — it's an inherent part of the business model. For decades, the industry has relied on recycled content as their primary feedstock, not just because it's better for the environment, but because it makes economic sense. Using recovered paper fibres as feedstock keeps valuable resources in circulation and reduces the need for virgin materials.
Given the importance of recycling to the industry, PPEC monitors data from both residential and IC&I sources. Accurate, up-to-date information is essential to measure progress and inform effective policy, regulatory, and program decisions.
The latest available data confirms that paper packaging remains one of the most diverted and successfully recycled materials in Canada.
PPEC members are more than producers of recyclable packaging — they are also processors and end markets for recycled fibre. Mills use this material as their primary feedstock, supporting a closed-loop system that allows paper fibres to be reused and remade into new packaging multiple times.
As policymakers and industry continue working toward more sustainable waste management and Extended Producer Responsibility recycling systems, access to data remains essential. PPEC will continue to monitor and share insights to support effective, evidence-based decision-making, and highlight the important role that recycled content plays in the Canadian paper packaging industry's circular economy.
