On October 29, 2009, the Council of Ministers approved in principle a Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility and a Canada-wide Strategy for Sustainable Packaging.

Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility

Canada-wide Strategy for Sustainable Packaging

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach in which a producer's responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product's life cycle.  In June 2007 CCME endorsed the Canada-wide principles for extended producer responsibility.

CCME's Extended Producer Responsibility Task Group was established to provide guidance on the development and implementation of EPR and product stewardship programs, and to consider packaging as a first priority.

The EPR Task Group's mandate is to:

• identify opportunities to harmonize, make consistent where appropriate, expand, and improve EPR programs;
• develop general guidance on EPR issues;
• identify and explore opportunities to forge strategies for new EPR initiatives; and
• facilitate EPR communications and information exchange among jurisdictions.