When Zhanyun Wang was a kid, his mother told him to avoid the sweet-smelling gases that sometimes drifted across his neighbourhood near Shanghai from nearby plastic factories. Anything that smelled "really nice," the now-researcher at the University of Zurich explained, was "probably very toxic."

Alberta has sided with a coalition of major plastic producers suing to stop the federal government’s efforts to reduce plastic pollution.

In a Wednesday letter, Alberta's attorney general told the Federal Court of Canada that the province would intervene in an industry-led lawsuit against the federal government’s 2021 decision to list plastics as "toxic" under Canada's environmental laws.

Canada has joined a global coalition of countries pushing for an international treaty to tackle the world's plastic pollution crisis. Led by Norway and Rwanda, the group of 20 countries will advocate for rules to reduce plastic production and eliminate plastic pollution by 2040.

Every day, about 160 tractor-trailers full of plastic waste cross the border between Canada and the United States, with about half going in each direction. They are a key link in a scrap plastic trade worth $18.8 million, but few details exist about what happens to these shipments on either side of the border — it is unclear if they are recycled, dumped in a landfill, sent overseas or burned as fuel.

Every day, about 160 tractor-trailers full of plastic waste cross the border between Canada and the United States, with about half going in each direction. They are a key link in a scrap plastic trade worth $18.8 million, but few details exist about what happens to these shipments on either side of the border — it is unclear if they are recycled, dumped in a landfill, sent overseas or burned as fuel.

New rules to end plastic pollution in Canada are under “misleading” attacks by a shadowy coalition of Canadian plastic manufacturers, environmental advocates warn following the release of a new survey.

The survey, which was structured as statements followed by a yes or no question, asked thousands of Canadians about the Liberal government's May decision to list plastic as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

Efforts to end plastic pollution with recycling could leave people and the environment laden with poisonous chemicals, a new study has found.

The report, which was not peer-reviewed, assessed four recycling and plastic waste management techniques that are poised to become more common as countries, including Canada, try to reduce plastic pollution. It found the main solutions promoted by the plastic industry — recycling, incineration, and transforming plastic into fuel — will increase people's risk of exposure to a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

Eggs eaten by some of the world's poorest people are being poisoned by plastic waste from rich countries like Canada and the U.S., new research has found.

A suite of harmful chemicals are added to plastic and food packaging to give them desirable traits, like grease resistance or flexibility. When they burn or break down, these chemicals contaminate the surrounding environment and animals living or feeding nearby.

Canadians can safely use their own coffee mugs, canvas bags, bubble tea cups and other reusable containers despite the pandemic, a new study has found.

The findings come as environmentalists report the proportion of single-use plastic food and beverage containers littering Canada's beaches has roughly doubled since the pandemic started. The COVID-19 crisis reversed a growing trend in Canada away from single-use plastics due to their environmental impact, the study found.

Ontario finalized changes to blue box recycling Thursday, aiming to shift costs away from municipalities and taxpayers by making companies that create waste pay for the program.

The revamped rules are a “bold step” that would standardize recycling across most of Ontario, keep more types of packaging away from landfills and encourage industry to be more efficient, provincial Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said. But critics say the new targets aren’t high enough and might leave costs in the hands of consumers.

The $35-billion plastics industry’s threat of legal action against Canada's efforts to rein in harmful plastic pollution will go nowhere, the federal government and environmental advocates say.

"Plastics litter our beaches, parks, streets, shorelines, and other places Canadians value. Their harmful impact on nature and wildlife must be addressed," said Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a Wednesday statement. "We have a serious problem that requires serious leadership. Enough is enough, Canadians expect action and that is exactly what we will continue to require from the plastics industry."

Over 40 leading Canadian researchers signed a letter this week urging Canada to support efforts to create a global UN treaty to address plastic pollution.

About two-thirds of countries globally — including the U.K. and members of the European Union — and several major food and beverage companies have indicated support for the approach.

Plastic is now considered toxic under Canada’s primary environmental law — the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) — the Trudeau government announced Wednesday.

The decision, which comes despite months of lobbying by Canada’s $28-billion plastics industry, paves the way for a proposed ban on some single-use items.

It’s been almost a decade since Jocelyn Doucet first experimented with recycling plastic waste in a microwave.

Now he says the technology derived from those early efforts will make it possible to produce plastic almost exclusively from recycled materials.

Each summer, Max Liboiron wanders the wind-whipped wooden staves around St. John’s, N.L., asking fish harvesters for fish guts.

Despite competition from angry gulls, they’re easy to come by, says the geography professor at Memorial University and ocean plastic researcher, who spends the winter dissecting the innards under a microscope looking for tiny plastic particles.

For the first 50 years after plastic was invented, the idea of only using the long-lasting material once was blasphemous, an affront to values of frugality honed over years of war and economic strife.

Then, in the late 1950s, the plastics industry launched a massive marketing campaign — and single-use plastic was born.