Canada to ban plastic bags, cutlery, straws, and other single use items by end of 2021

[Stevicus]

Canada banning plastic bags, straws, cutlery and other single-use items by the end of 2021

OTTAWA -- Under the newly-unveiled list of single-use plastics being banned in Canada, plastic grocery bags, straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery and food containers made from hard-to-recycle plastics will be out of use nationwide by the end of 2021.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the federal government’s next steps towards its plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.

“When a ban comes into effect, your local stores will be providing you with alternatives to these plastic products,” Wilkinson said, adding that he knows it’s hard to come back from a trip to the grocery store without single-use plastic products, especially food packaging, but that “has to change.”

They also have a plan for dealing with the need for PPE during the pandemic.

In the spring, Wilkinson signalled that the ban on single-use plastics may be delayed because of the pandemic. By the summer, a Canadian report found that public support for a crackdown on certain products was dwindling as the majority of those surveyed said they liked the health and safety protections associated with disposable plastics over reusable alternatives.

Recognizing the ongoing need for single-use plastic personal protective equipment items like face shields, the federal government says the ban will not impact access to PPE, or other plastics used in medical facilities.

However, the government has been discussing the pollution impacts of the increased use of many disposable products during the pandemic and says it’s working with the provinces and territories on plans to properly dispose as much of it as possible.

“We're also investigating solutions to recycle PPE where it is safe to do so, and options to make some of the PPE biodegradable,” Wilkinson said.

Some environmental groups welcomed the ban but say it doesn't go far enough.

While environmental groups welcomed the news, they are pushing the Liberals to go further with the ban.

“After three years of promising to tackle plastic waste and pollution, and to create a strategy that moves Canada towards zero plastic waste, the federal government has instead continued to largely rely on the recycling myth and the bare minimum ban list,” said Sarah King, head of the oceans and plastics campaign at Greenpeace Canada.

“The only way to prevent toxic substances from getting into the environment is to ban all of them. The government says it wants to tackle the climate crisis, protect our oceans, and move toward a circular economy, but as long as single-use plastics continue to be produced at current rates, there is no incentive for companies to transition to cleaner and healthier reuse models,” King said.

The federal Conservatives characterized the announcement as “desperate” attempts to keep a campaign promise and raised concerns with the costs to replace some commonly used single-use plastics in settings like long-term care homes.

Similarly, the Alberta government was not impressed with the announcement, despite that government’s stated desire to become a recycling hub.

“We know that plastics are the foundation of the modern world,” said Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage. “The federal government needs to be working with the provinces, needs to be supporting things like our natural gas vision, and needs to be supporting things like our full lifecycle economy for plastics.”

Some states have banned plastic bags. I don't think we have any bans like that in my state.

 

[Revoltingest]

I wouldn't ban compostable plastics.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

It's at a state level here (rather than federal) but I would imagine this will be nationwide within the next year.

SA to roll out ban of single-use plastics in Australian first

 

[Quintessence]

One more reason I should seriously consider moving to Canada. You all are great.

 

[pearl]

Banning plastic bags is the only answer until such time there is a plan for disposing of them. Let's face it, we here in the USA are a collective bunch of slobs with indifference to the harm plastic does to marine life.

 

[metis]

I chose Curtain #3.

BTW, I came across the fact that Colgate-Palmolive is one of the world's worse polluters with plastics and some other environmental issues, and they own numerous other companies. See: Colgate-Palmolive - Wikipedia

 

[ChristineM]

You rock Canada

Most single use plastics are already banned in much of the EU.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Canada banning plastic bags, straws, cutlery and other single-use items by the end of 2021



They also have a plan for dealing with the need for PPE during the pandemic.



Some environmental groups welcomed the ban but say it doesn't go far enough.





Some states have banned plastic bags. I don't think we have any bans like that in my state.

I voted no, because generally banning things is not a good idea. The people doing the banning very often don't know what it is they are banning, but they get a little gold star for it anyway. Somebody had to invent these things, market them; and they were useful for a lot of people. Banning them is effortless. What if the people up there in the sky never needed shoes and decided therefore that nobody should need them and therefore banned all shoes. Then we'd be expected to go barefoot. Remember these are the people who have never scanned their own groceries. They know almost nothing about our lives. A better approach would be instead of banning things to individually talk to businesses and people about better practices...getting things done the hard way.

 

[Father Heathen]

I voted no, because generally banning things is not a good idea.

Asbestos? Lead paint? DDT?

 

[Brickjectivity]

Asbestos? Lead paint? DDT?

What we have there are toxic substances, so I guess you have a point about banning some things.

 

[Salty Booger]

I have seen the appearance of paper straws here in the US, and think it is a good start. I read there is like a million square miles of consumer plastics floating in the Pacific Ocean.

 

[Stevicus]

I voted no, because generally banning things is not a good idea. The people doing the banning very often don't know what it is they are banning, but they get a little gold star for it anyway. Somebody had to invent these things, market them; and they were useful for a lot of people. Banning them is effortless. What if the people up there in the sky never needed shoes and decided therefore that nobody should need them and therefore banned all shoes. Then we'd be expected to go barefoot. Remember these are the people who have never scanned their own groceries. They know almost nothing about our lives. A better approach would be instead of banning things to individually talk to businesses and people about better practices...getting things done the hard way.

Some states have banned plastic bags at grocery stores, and I guess people seem to be adjusting to that. They haven't banned it in my state, so we still have plastic bags, straws, plastic cutlery, plastic drink cups, and plastic lids for the plastic drink cups.

Banning those plastic six-pack rings might not be too much of a hardship, since six-packs can be packaged in cardboard.

Food packaging might be difficult. Things like TV dinners and other microwavable items might have plastic containers. I've seen cookies packaged that way, in these little plastic trays inside the bag. I don't know if it keeps the cookies fresher, but those plastic trays invariably end up in the trash.

I still recall when soda bottles and milk bottles were made of glass. I suppose we could go back to that, but the appeal of plastic was that it isn't breakable like glass. Coffee cans used to be made of metal, but now they're plastic, for the most part. There are so many things with plastic wrappers. Plastic is everywhere. It makes one wonder how we ever lived without it.

 

[Salty Booger]

Coffee cans used to be made of metal, but now they're plastic, for the most part.

Mine are made of paper, though a few do use plastic containers.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

What we have there are toxic substances, so I guess you have a point about banning some things.

And plastic is harmful to the environment and wildlife.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Some states have banned plastic bags at grocery stores, and I guess people seem to be adjusting to that. They haven't banned it in my state, so we still have plastic bags, straws, plastic cutlery, plastic drink cups, and plastic lids for the plastic drink cups.

Banning those plastic six-pack rings might not be too much of a hardship, since six-packs can be packaged in cardboard.

Food packaging might be difficult. Things like TV dinners and other microwavable items might have plastic containers. I've seen cookies packaged that way, in these little plastic trays inside the bag. I don't know if it keeps the cookies fresher, but those plastic trays invariably end up in the trash.

I still recall when soda bottles and milk bottles were made of glass. I suppose we could go back to that, but the appeal of plastic was that it isn't breakable like glass. Coffee cans used to be made of metal, but now they're plastic, for the most part. There are so many things with plastic wrappers. Plastic is everywhere. It makes one wonder how we ever lived without it.

What might be nice is a service which takes your leftover thermoplastic and turns it into usable plastic that you can take back home for use. Consumers handle many kilos of leftover plastic per year without any concept of what value it has. That makes people think it is worthless, and so it gets mixed into the garbage. This might improve if people could get an appliance or had a cheap service that would let them convert their leftover plastic into something usable or saleable. I would love to take my leftover plastic, pay a few bucks and get back some nice plastic sheets or rods. That would make me value my plastic more.