Six types of single-use plastics will be Soon to be banned All over Canada, including shopping bags, pots and straws. The federal government introduced new regulations for this purpose on Monday.
In addition to the aforementioned plastic products, food containers that are difficult to recycle, beverage packaging rings and stir sticks will also be banned.
“We chose these items based on science because they are often found in the environment. They can be hazardous to wildlife and their inhabitants. Plus, they are difficult to recycle and we have solutions to replace them,” explains Stephen Gilbolt, Federal Minister for the Environment and Climate Change During a press conference in Quebec on combating single-use plastic pollution.
The minister estimates that once the regulations come into effect, they will remove more than 1.3 million tons of hard-to-recycle plastic products from landfills and more than 22,000 tons of plastic pollution that ends up in our environment over the next 10 years. “It’s the equivalent of a million trash bags full of trash,” Mr. Guilbeault recalls.
Ottawa does not rule out the possibility of banning other plastic products and proposing new management policies for them.
Corporate Help
Mr. Gilbolt anticipates creating government assistance to spur innovation and modernize companies in their transition to banning the relevant plastic products.
He wants to move to a “circular economy” that recycles and uses plastic so it stays in the economy and out of the environment. Over four million tons of plastic are produced each year in Canada, of which only 8% is recycled. In 2016, all this plastic waste accounted for an eight billion dollar loss to the Canadian economy,” the minister said.
We can’t clean up polluted places only if we really want to end plastic pollution. We must attack the source of the problem.
Stephen Gilbolt, Federal Minister for the Environment and Climate Change
The federal government has released a document listing the types of plastic subject to regulation to help businesses and individuals adapt to the ban and choose more sustainable options.
