Review of the global evolution of regulations on single-use plastics and lessons drawn for Canada.

Plastic pollution is a global problem and many countries are strengthening their regulations to mitigate the related environmental degradation and health risks and to support the development and deployment of circular economy for various types of plastics. As Canada also develops its strategy for regulating single-use plastic as one element of the plastic pollution, aligned federal and provincial policies are essential. This study presents an analysis of existing and emerging policies to provide guidance on Canada's future regulations. Qualitative and quantitative data regarding plastic regulations were gathered from similar countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States and relevant scientific articles. Analysis was also conducted of current Canadian regulations that both impact and guide the path for plastic regulation, international examples provided guidance for future Canadian regulations. The analysis found that there is a need for public education on the gravity of plastic pollution to gain their support; for establishing pioneering provinces or cities in plastic regulations to learn from and provide other cities with support; and to start with banning items with available alternatives, to be followed by phasing out other items that are more difficult to replace. The study also showed potential areas of improvement in impact data. The need for reliable regulatory performance data against a baseline scenario; consistency in methodology; and proper scoping to reduce the risk of displacement or exclusivity in policy were identified.

Impact of forest harvest intensity and transportation distance on biomass delivered costs within sustainable forest management - A case study in southeastern Canada.

This study compares the delivered cost of forest biomass and its associated GHG emissions for three sizes of biorefinery including 50,000 m3 (small scale), 250,000 m3 (medium scale), and 700,000 m3 (large scale). The proposed methodology in this study includes harvest intensity which is often overlooked. The Pontiac region located in the Province of Quebec (Southeastern Canada) is used as a case study due to the availability of data in this forestry biomass rich region. Furthermore, there are significant similarities with other forestry regions to enable generalisation of the proposed case study. Harvest intensities of 423 harvest zones (cutblocks) are considered in cost and GHG emissions analysis of delivered biomass from each cutblock to the biorefinery. The results show that harvest intensities of cutblocks must be prioritized over conventional parameters such as transportation distance. The selection and prioritisation of cutblocks according to transportation distance without considering harvest intensities would result in an increase of about 12.5% in delivered costs of biomass for small and medium scale biorefineries. Results also reveal that the transportation distance would be a more significant parameter when using the same harvest intensity for all the selected cutblocks. Required logistics and harvesting equipment for three biorefinery sizes were also quantified. Sensitivity analysis shows that reduced productivity of harvest equipment by 20% could increase the delivered costs of biomass and GHG emissions by 10% for medium and large scale biorefineries and by 13% for a small scale biorefinery.

Life cycle assessment of bioethanol production from woodchips with modifications in the pretreatment process.

Pretreatment as a crucial step in the process of ethanol production has significant influences on the process efficiency and on the environmental performance of the bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. In present life cycle analysis (LCA) study, two cases for pretreatment of woodchips were considered as the focal point of the ethanol plant. One was assumed as base scenario whereas the second is the proposed alternative by implementation of modifications on the base design. In the first stage, LCA results of pretreatment unit showed lower environmental impacts in respiratory inorganics and land use than in new scenario, while the base scenario revealed better performance in fossil fuels. The results of the second stage of LCA study demonstrated improvement in proposed design in most categories of environmental impacts such as 18.5 % in land use as well as 17 % improvement in ecosystem quality.