Webinar: Stabilizing Recycled Plastics End Markets: Policy Tools, Market Signals, and Next Steps

Thursday, June 25, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (MT)

Alberta’s and Canada’s residential recycling system is entering a new phase. With Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rolling out across the provinces, attention is shifting from collection and processing toward a critical challenge: creating stable, long-term end markets for recycled plastics.

Global plastics markets remain highly volatile. Low virgin resin pricing, inconsistent demand for post-consumer recycled materials, a lack of recycled content regulation, shifting trade dynamics, and illegal dumping of resin into Canada at unfair price levels continue to create uncertainty for municipalities, producers, PROs, recyclers, and investors. At the same time, expectations for recycled content, circular packaging, and producer accountability are increasing across Canada and internationally.

This webinar will begin with a short framing segment that outlines past, present, and emerging market conditions for recycled plastics, including key risks if current trajectories continue. It will also surface “smart things to work towards”—practical characteristics of a more resilient and investable circular plastics system.

The panel discussion will then explore the complexity of the plastics value chain and the interconnected decisions shaping recycled material markets. Speakers will examine where risks are emerging across the system—from policy design and market signals to infrastructure investment and procurement—and discuss approaches that could help mitigate those risks while supporting a more resilient circular plastics economy.

Objectives:

This session is designed to:

Build a shared understanding of recycled plastics market conditions and structural drivers of a global market and volatility
Identify key risks to Alberta’s and Canada’s circular plastics system if end-market challenges remain unresolved
Explore policy tools that can strengthen and stabilize demand for recycled plastics
Highlight the role of EPR, procurement, and recycled content policies in market development
Share national and international perspectives on effective market-stabilizing approaches
Identify practical next steps for Alberta to support resilient circular plastics value chains

Free registration!