Sustainable Practices in Explosives Packaging – State of Industry

As part of Transport Canada’s (TC) objective to have a safe and sustainable transportation system, the Scientific Research team in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate (TDG) is undertaking a project to gather information that can help to identify more sustainable practices for explosives packaging, with particular focus on single use fibreboard boxes and single use plastic bags used in the transportation of industrial explosives (i.e. Type I and E). This information will help TC assess any potential barriers to environmental sustainability in the current TDG and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) regulatory requirements for explosives packaging.TDG’s general understanding of existing practices is that these packagings are disposed of in a burn pit. In consultation with producers, there have been several initiatives to divert explosive packagings from burn pits however there have been many obstacles and no generally accepted practices.The objective of this project is to develop or identify more sustainable practices for explosives packaging, particularly fibreboard boxes while maintaining an adequate level of safety. With the TC objective of having a sustainable transportation system as well as the overall priority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is interest in determining if there are more sustainable methods for use, reuse, and disposal (including recycling) of these means of containment (MOCs).In addition, there is little information regarding the disposal requirements, quantities of MOCs (i.e. containers, packaging), and current practices by users.The main objectives for the first phase of this work are for TC are to:Gain a better understanding of the regulatory requirements related to disposal and reuse of explosives packaging and any potential barriers to reuse or recyclingGain a better understanding of industry restrictions and best practicesDetermine the quantity and type of MOCs being used for explosives packaging in CanadaDetermine current disposal practices by usersOf particular interest to TC are the industrial explosives Type I and E.