Canada News
Single-use plastics ban plan laid out by Canada
Six items are affected besides straws and grocery bags, including Styrofoam take-out food containers, cutlery, stir sticks, and plastic rings that hold together six packs of beer. (File Photo: Morgan Vander Hart/Unsplash)
TRENTON, Canada – Plastic straws and grocery bags will be history by year’s end, the Canadian government announced Monday.
The long-awaited move happens three years after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to end the use of plastics that are difficult to recycle and contribute to pollution.
Six items are affected besides straws and grocery bags, including Styrofoam take-out food containers, cutlery, stir sticks, and plastic rings that hold together six packs of beer.
The ban means the products can no longer be made as of the end of this year. As well, it stops the sale of the items by the end of 2023 and their importation by the end of 2025.
The government listed manufactured plastics as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act following a scientific assessment of plastics in 2020. It was the first necessary step toward the ban.
Plastics have become a plague in Canada. In a 2019 study, the Environmental and Climate Change Canada found that 3.6 million tons of plastic were thrown out annually. Most ended up in garbage landfills as only about 10 percent of plastics were recycled. It takes hundreds of years for plastic to decompose in landfills.
Also in 2019, a country-wide shoreline cleanup initiative collected 359,000 pounds of plastic waste.
The government data shows that year also saw huge sales and use of plastic, including 15.5 billion grocery bags, 4.5 million pieces of cutlery, 3 billion stir sticks, 5.8 billion straws, 183 million six-pack rings and 805 million take-out containers, as reported by Global News.
The items also turned up as litter in parks and forests.
Some grocery retailers have already ended the use of plastic bags, including Sobey’s, while a number of fast-food outlets have removed plastic straws and replaced them with paper ones.
Darlynz Gomez
June 22, 2022 at 11:56 AM
Great move!!! Plastic pollution is dangerous to this world… Best wishes for the implementation too.
The biggest problem facing us today is Plastic bags.
What about single use masks? They are taking up more landfill space than plastic water bottles lately.
Christopher Burac
June 22, 2022 at 6:43 PM
I can’t say nothing but “sana ol” to canadian people. Indeed that plastics are indeed a plague in our environment,( i ain’t talking about “plastik friends”)especially that they are one of the main cause of pollution.Whoever implemented this ,good job and greet idea,we should do eradicate the use of plastics,it is one of the best way to make our environment clean and less polluted ,hoping Philippines will do the same too but I think it will happen once in a blue moon knowing that most of filipinos don’t know how to follow rules. In addition too,it seems that some of the government officials do not care about our environment,they only care about power and position,and money.
Sonny Ramirez
June 23, 2022 at 8:32 AM
Something has to be done worldwide. This is way out of control.Reusable cloth bags are going to a good use. Plus you can fit more groceries in a cloth bag more than a plastic bag.
Canada is such a good neighbor and role model for us. Well done!
Catherine Cristobal
June 23, 2022 at 9:40 AM
Isang napakagandang Hakbang ito ng Canada,na Sana’y maging Modelo para sa IBANG Bansa na Katulad ng Pilipinas.Oo Bagama’t mhihirapan ANg Gobyerno na ipatupad ito lage ntin iisipin na walang IMPOSIBLE na Mundo lalo kung ito ay ating Pagtutulungan at Disiplina ANg Paiiralin.Isang Magandang halimbawa ang Manila Bay na Akala ntin nuon Ay TULUYAN ng mabubura Dahil sa tumpok ng mga Basura NA NAIPON SA mahabang Panahon,Ngunit Ngaun TLAGA namang mapapahanga ANg Karamihan sa laki ng Ikinalinis at Ikinaunlad nito.Sabi nga NASA Diyos ANg Awa, NASA Tao ang GAWA… 😇🙏🙏💙💝
Mark Christian Dizon
June 23, 2022 at 10:11 AM
This movement will really help to the environmental issues that the world facing.
Cecille Moreno
June 23, 2022 at 10:33 AM
Single used plastic has really a bog impact on our environment’s deterioration.This causes block drainaes which results to flooding,if thrown to bodies of water aside from contamination it causes suffocation of underwater creatures.Coming from a President,this is a good move,this shows that he is concerned with their environmental problems.I just hope that there will still be no negligence where more paper will be used replacing plastic wher they will be needing to cut more trees.They must imposed using recycled paper too.