Mastering Quebec's Packaging Ecosystem: Keys to Success Beyond the packaging

A few years ago in France, I thought I was launching a small revolution in packaging. A lighter, recyclable PET milk bottle, stripped of its unnecessary foil seal. Consumer tests were positive. Internal teams were excited. Everything pointed to success.

Except it wasn’t. Once it reached sorting centres, this “innovation” failed. Too similar to non-recyclable bottles, it ended up incinerated. Being the only company using it made adaptation impossible. The lesson was harsh: even the smartest innovation cannot survive without the support of the whole ecosystem.

Quebec’s PLA Mirage

In Quebec, PLA may look like a good idea. It’s a compostable plastic—or so it claims. But here, it’s neither accepted for recycling nor properly composted in industrial facilities. In practice, it becomes a problem material.

Regulation makes it worse. Under Quebec’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program for containers, packaging, and printed materials- managed by Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) - fees aren’t based on theory but on actual costs. And PLA comes with a penalty because it complicates collection and processing. Translation: more expensive to buy, more expensive to declare, and harder for sorting and composting facilities to manage.

What looks green quickly turns into a triple trap: economic, regulatory, and environmental.

What SMEs Should Ask Themselves

Before betting on a new package, ask three questions:

1. What is its real end-of-life in Quebec’s systems: recycling, composting, or landfill?

2. What will it cost under the EPR fee schedule: bonus or penalty?

3. Is it compatible with your markets and clients: perception, export requirements, regulations?

These three checks are often enough to separate credible solutions from costly illusions.

France-Quebec: Same Illusion, Different Reality

My French milk bottle and Quebec’s PLA tell the same story: believing that theory equals practice.

A sustainable material is not just a formula. Its success depends on the entire ecosystem (printers, packaging makers, technical experts, sorting centres, recyclers). Without their alignment, even the best innovation is an illusion.

The Real Recipe: Understand Before You Act

This isn’t discouraging. It’s a call to understand before deciding. To collaborate with all actors. To test solutions in Quebec’s real conditions rather than relying on promises on paper.

Conclusion: Ecosystem or Nothing

From a milk bottle in France to PLA in Quebec, the pattern is clear. Innovation without roots in the real system will fail.

A sustainable package cannot exist on its own. It lives (or dies) with its ecosystem.

Take Action: Avoid These Costly Pitfalls

Packaging mistakes are expensive. On average, a poor decision can cost thousands in EPR surcharges, not to mention the impact on your brand image and distributor relationships.

The Ecoemballage+ au Quebec training I helped develop for Comité 21 Quebec gives you concrete tools to avoid these pitfalls. It guides you step-by-step through your packaging decisions.

This initiative is made possible through support from the SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING+ program, coordinated by the Quebec Fund for Sustainable Development and financially supported by Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Thanks to their support, your training is 75% subsidized.

What you'll learn:

• How to assess the real (not theoretical) recyclability of your packaging in Quebec

• Winning trade-offs between protection, cost, and sustainability

• How to negotiate with suppliers

• Traps to absolutely avoid (PLA, black plastics, problematic multilayer materials)

Online training adapted to SME schedules: 6 two-hour modules with weekly expert guidance.

Regional conferences starting in September across 6 Quebec regions to ask experts your questions directly.

Individual 40-hour coaching for 10 companies ready to take immediate action.

Limited spaces. EPR is here to stay—might as well make it work for you.

Sign up here or contact Lorraine Simard: lorraine.simard@comite21quebec.org | 514-824-3035