A study out of Canada shows the impact the construction industry has on the environment with plastics and how building material suppliers can become a force that properly manages plastic waste.

Light House, a group of experts helping governments create regenerative build environments, released the Construction Plastics Initiative (CPI) Benchmarking Study, the first national effort to evaluate plastics in Canadian construction projects at scale.  By analyzing diversion data from 253 LEED-certified projects across seven provinces, it reveals how construction plastics remain under-tracked and under-managed — and sets out clear recommendations to close these gaps through stronger reporting, supplier engagement, and on-site practices.

While single-use plastics have long been in the spotlight by industry and policymakers, construction plastics — a far more significant source of plastic waste — have remained largely ignored. With global negotiations for a plastics treaty recently stalled, national and industry-level action has never been more urgent. Canada’s Federal Plastics Registry will expand in 2026 to include construction plastics, requiring companies that supply or use building materials to report how much plastic they produce, recycle, and dispose of.

To prepare the sector, Light House launched the Construction Plastics Initiative (CPI) in 2024: a first-of-its-kind pilot program working with 10 construction projects in the Lower Mainland to capture, divert, and repurpose plastic waste and manufacture it into new building materials.

Supported by the CleanBC Plastics Action Fund and Environment and Climate Change Canada, CPI is piloting solutions such as on-site collection, supplier engagement, and recycling plastics into new building products — while building the evidence base for national change.

The Benchmarking Study provides the foundation of real data to illustrate the plastics problem and sets the stage for findings from the CPI project to be released in spring 2026 that will demonstrate how industry can move from problem to solution.

Key findings from the study include:

• Diversion intensity averaged 1.1–2.7 kg/m² (~0.23 – 0.55 lb/ft²), with institutional and residential projects producing the highest volumes. 
  • For comparison: at 1.1–2.7 kg/m², the amount of plastic diverted from the construction of a building the size of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (260,000 sq m) would be as much as 700,000 kg (about 1.5 million pounds) — equivalent to 140 million plastic bags.
• Regional differences were observed between provinces such as Alberta and Quebec, suggesting that supply chains, infrastructure, and policy frameworks influence outcomes.
• Year of project completion emerged as a factor, with a 2015 spike in diversion intensities aligning with national trends in plastic disposal.
• Current reporting systems rarely separate plastics by material type, making it difficult to benchmark progress or target solutions.

Together, these findings highlight inconsistencies in how construction plastics are tracked and diverted, with outcomes varying widely by project type, region, and reporting practices. This variability underscores the urgent need for standardized tracking and clearer industry-wide practices. At the same time, external research points to a major opportunity: around 80% of construction plastics are clean packaging and readily divertible. With simple, proven measures such as signage, crew training, and supplier take-back programs, diversion rates could rise above 80%.

“Construction plastics are one of Canada’s most overlooked waste streams,” said Gil Yaron, managing director, circular innovation, Light House and co-author of the study. “This study gives us the evidence we need to understand the challenge, and CPI offers the pathway to progress, showing that with the right systems and partnerships in place, Canada’s construction industry can dramatically cut its plastic footprint and lead the shift to a circular economy.”

To read the full CPI Benchmarking Report, visit: light-house.org.