Canada sets timeline for banning many single-use plastics


Canada sets timeline for banning many single-use plastics


#REPORTER

25 JUNE ‘22

5 minutes

Words by Emma Hastie

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Anna Shvets

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many 

single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan, 

but there are varying opinions on whether or not this banned single-use plastics initiative is being implemented in the best way.

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Anna Shvets


The Timeline

At a news conference on Monday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, Steven Guilbeault, stated how "our government is all-in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution" and described the plan of banning certain plastics and going plastic free. The federal government intends to ban companies from importing or making single-use plastic bags and single-use takeout containers by the end of this year, then from selling them by the end of next year, and lastly from exporting them by the end of 2025. Not only will this move of banning single-use plastics affect plastic bags and takeout containers, but it will also affect most single-use plastic straws, stir sticks, and cutlery. These are the main banned plastic goods affected in this initial rollout of the plan to ban single-use plastics, but Guilbeault also shared that he doesn't think "we can ban our way out of plastic pollution" entirely. There are many steps to this plastic free initiative. 

In the future, more soon-to-be banned plastics such as the single-use six-pack rings used to hold cans and bottles together will likely be affected with the intention to have June 2023 as the target to stop the production and import of them and June 2024 as the target to ban their sale. Guilbeault asserted that the government is open to adding more items to the list but wants to first target the plastics that are the most common and easiest to replace in this plastic free initiative. 

He also expressed that "banning certain items is certainly part of the solution but regulating to ensure that companies who produce plastics use more and more recycled plastic…is also part of the solution.”


Photo by Anna Shvets

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan, but there are varying opinions on whether or not this banned single-use plastics initiative is being implemented in the best way.




The Timeline

At a news conference on Monday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, Steven Guilbeault, stated how “our government is all-in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution" and described the plan of banning certain plastics and going plastic free. The federal government intends to ban companies from importing or making single-use plastic bags and single-use takeout containers by the end of this year, then from selling them by the end of next year, and lastly from exporting them by the end of 2025. Not only will this move of banning single-use plastics affect plastic bags and takeout containers, but it will also affect most single-use plastic straws, stir sticks, and cutlery. These are the main banned plastic goods affected in this initial rollout of the plan to ban single-use plastics, but Guilbeault also shared that he doesn't think "we can ban our way out of plastic pollution" entirely. There are many steps to this plastic free initiative. 

In the future, more soon-to-be banned plastics such as the single-use six-pack rings used to hold cans and bottles together will likely be affected with the intention to have June 2023 as the target to stop the production and import of them and June 2024 as the target to ban their sale. Guilbeault asserted that the government is open to adding more items to the list but wants to first target the plastics that are the most common and easiest to replace in this plastic free initiative. He also expressed that "banning certain items is certainly part of the solution but regulating to ensure that companies who produce plastics use more and more recycled plastic…is also part of the solution.”
Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Anna Shvets


The Facts 

In 2019, a research study conducted by Environment and Climate Change Canada found that less than one-tenth of the plastic waste Canadians produce is recycled, which meant that 3.3 million tonnes of plastic was thrown out annually, almost half of it being plastic packaging. Most of this plastic ended up in landfills, where it will now take hundreds of years to decompose. Newly banned single-use plastic bags, takeout containers, and straws are among the most commonly found plastic items during beach cleanups in Canada, along with single-use bottles, coffee cups, and bottle caps. This also explains Canada’s target goal of eliminating all plastic waste from ending up in landfills or as litter on beaches, wetlands, and rivers by 2030.


The Opinions 

Sarah King, head of the oceans and plastics campaign for Greenpeace Canada, said banning these single-use plastic items is a step in the right direction but has a difficult time accepting that Canada is “all-in” on its plastic free plan as Guilbeault claimed and believes that the government needs to get even more serious when it comes to its plastic free initiative if we are to see proper improvement.


The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters also said in a statement on Monday that "an outright ban" and plastic free initiative won't reduce plastic waste and that “the better approach is to develop a circular economy that treats plastics as a resource to be managed and recycled back into the Canadian economy rather than ending up in a landfill.”

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Anna Shvets

Photo by Lara Jamesonara

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich



Furthermore, The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, a group that works in support with chemical and plastics companies, that did not warmly welcome the ban, considering that according to Elena Mantagaris, the vice-president of the association's plastics division, the plastics industry represents 100,000 direct jobs and adds $35 billion to the Canadian economy. Mantagaris also expressed that "we are disappointed that safe, inert plastic materials that play such important roles in Canadians' lives are being banned when innovative technologies like advanced recycling are available to manage them effectively.”


Olivier Bourbeau, the vice-president of federal affairs at Restaurants Canada, also stated that the government needs to ensure that alternatives to the banned, single-use items are readily available and that the government needs to work with suppliers to make sure production can meet the high demand in the restaurant industry. Not everyone seems to be entirely appeased by Canada’s plastic free initiative, but there needs to obviously be change and we need to continue cleaning up and caring for our planet.


Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Lara Jameson

Canada recently announced its timeline for banning many single-use plastics and ensures for its government to be “all-in” when it comes to its plastic free plan

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich


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