By: Morgan Martel
This holiday season Canadians are receiving the gift of reduced plastic pollution. On December 20, 2022 the first round of prohibitions under Canada’s Single Use Plastics Prohibition will come into force banning the manufacture and import for sale of checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks and straws (Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, 2022). Following prohibitions on the manufacture and sale of single use plastics for import in Canada, bans on the sale, and the manufacture, import and sale for export will follow over the next three years with all prohibitions on single use plastics coming into force by December 20, 2025 (Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, 2022). The official announcement of this regulation in June 2022 follows Canada’s broader goal of reaching zero plastic waste by 2030 (EarthDay, 2022). Despite industry pushback, Canada has followed through with banning single-use plastics given that 86% of plastic produced in Canada ends up in landfills which creates an economic loss of $8 000 000 CAD per year (EarthDay, 2022).
Although Canada’s countrywide ban on single use plastics is certainly a step in the right direction, the efforts of one nation alone cannot stop the over-pollution of our Earth and especially our oceans. Canada does not even make it to the top 10 list of global plastic producers meaning that for real change to occur countries such as the United States, India, China and Brazil will need to adopt similar bans to stop single-use plastic production and prevent plastic pollution (CIWEM, 2022). Canada’s single-use plastic ban is unique given that it is more fast paced and stricter than other nations such as the UK and Bangladesh who have also imposed single-use plastic bans. The prompt and aggressive approach taken by the Canadian government can serve as a role model for the rest of the world in fighting against the degradation of our planet.
References
Single-use Plastic Prohibition Regulations. (2022). Overview
N.A. (2022). Canada’s Ban on Single Use Plastics. EarthDay.
N.A. (2022). These 10 countries are the biggest contributors to marine plastic pollution- new
analysis. CIWEM.
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