A Guide to Sustainable Packaging Types

Why packaging type matters

The material a product is packaged in determines whether it can be recycled, composted, or must go to landfill — regardless of what the label says. In Canada, recycling acceptance varies by province and municipality, and some materials that are technically recyclable are not accepted in most collection programs due to contamination risk or low end-market value.

The federal government has moved to ban some single-use plastics under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, but the scope of those bans is narrow. For most packaging decisions, the material itself and its local recycling pathway are the relevant factors.

Glass

Glass is accepted in most Canadian Blue Box and multi-material recycling programs. It is infinitely recyclable without degradation in quality, making it one of the more straightforward materials from a recycling standpoint. However:

• Some curbside programs ask glass to be separated or dropped off at depots rather than placed in blue boxes, because broken glass can contaminate other recyclables
• Quebec's deposit-return (consigne) system covers glass beverage containers, creating an independent return loop
• Glass is heavy, which increases transport emissions — a factor in comparing it to aluminium for beverage containers

For grocery products, glass jars (pasta sauce, jam, pickles) are a consistent choice across most Canadian municipalities. Reusing glass jars for bulk bin purchases before eventually recycling them extends their useful life.

Cardboard and paperboard

Corrugated cardboard and paperboard (cereal boxes, egg cartons, juice cartons) are widely accepted in Canadian recycling programs. The main considerations:

• Cardboard contaminated with food (greasy pizza boxes) is generally not recyclable — the grease disrupts the pulping process
• Tetra Pak and other multi-layer cartons (juice boxes, soup cartons) are technically recyclable but accepted in fewer programs due to the cost of separating the paper, plastic, and aluminium layers
• Paper packaging for produce is compostable in most municipal green bin programs

Plastics: types and Canadian acceptance

Plastic resin codes (the triangle with a number) indicate the plastic type, not recyclability. Canadian collection programs vary considerably in what they accept:

PET (1) and HDPE (2)

These are the most widely accepted plastics in Canadian programs. PET covers water and soda bottles, and HDPE covers milk jugs, shampoo bottles, and most food containers with stiff walls. Both have established recycling markets.

PP (5)

Polypropylene, used in yogurt tubs, deli containers, and bottle caps, is accepted in many but not all programs. British Columbia's Recycle BC accepts it; some Ontario municipalities do not.

PS (6) and PVC (3)

Polystyrene (foam trays, coffee cups) and PVC are accepted in very few Canadian programs. Most municipalities ask these to be placed in landfill waste rather than recycling. Some private drop-off programs accept polystyrene for specific applications.

Soft plastics (film, bags)

Plastic film — bread bags, produce bags, chip bags — is generally not accepted in curbside recycling anywhere in Canada. Some grocery stores (Loblaw, Sobeys) operate soft plastic collection bins in-store, but the destination and quality of processing varies.

Bioplastics and compostables

This category generates the most confusion on retail shelves. Bioplastics cover a range of materials with different properties:

PLA (polylactic acid)

PLA is made from corn starch or sugarcane and is commercially compostable at temperatures above 55°C — conditions found in industrial composting facilities, not home compost bins. PLA looks like standard plastic and cannot be recycled with conventional plastic streams. It must go to an industrial composting facility or landfill. Most Canadian curbside green bin programs do not accept PLA.

Home compostable packaging

A smaller subset of packaging is certified home compostable, meaning it will break down in standard backyard compost conditions within a few months. These products carry certifications such as TÜV OK compost HOME. Check the specific certification mark rather than relying on the word "compostable" alone.

Bagasse and moulded fibre

Packaging made from sugarcane fibre (bagasse) or moulded paper pulp (egg-carton style trays) is generally accepted in Canadian green bin programs and home compost. These are among the more straightforward compostable packaging types.

Aluminium

Aluminium cans are among the most recyclable packaging formats available. The metal is accepted in virtually all Canadian municipal programs, and recycling aluminium requires significantly less energy than producing it from raw ore. Drink cans and foil trays are both accepted, though crumpled foil can cause sorting issues — keeping it in larger pieces improves sorting accuracy.

Choosing between packaging types in practice

When comparing two similarly priced products with different packaging, a rough priority order that reflects actual Canadian recycling infrastructure:

1. No packaging (bulk bins, farmers' market produce)
2. Glass or aluminium with deposit return
3. Cardboard or paperboard (non-laminated)
4. PET or HDPE plastics
5. PP plastics (check local program)
6. Compostable packaging accepted in your local green bin
7. Multi-layer packaging (Tetra Pak)
8. PLA and unaccepted compostables (landfill in most cases)
9. Soft plastics, PS, PVC

This order reflects end-of-life outcomes rather than production impacts. For a full lifecycle view, other factors like transport weight and production energy matter, but are harder to assess at the point of purchase.