Checkout bags, straws and four other single-use plastic items will be banned in Canada.
Ottawa, Canada:
Cash bags, straws and four other single-use plastic items will be banned in Canada by the end of 2021, the Environment Minister said on Wednesday, while acknowledging that the country lags behind. ‘Europe in recycling efforts.
The ban – which also targets stir sticks, rings, cutlery and food items made from hard-to-recycle plastics – is part of a larger plan to eliminate plastic waste by 2030, which is at the heart of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate and environmental agenda.
But the Minister of the Environment, Jonathan Wilkinson, admitted: “We are not at the head of the world in this field”.
“Many countries in Europe, including the UK, have taken this route and we have certainly learned from the work they have done,” he said at a press conference.
According to Ottawa, Canadians throw away three million tonnes of plastic waste each year – including 15 billion bags per year and 57 million straws per day. Only nine percent of it is recycled.
Ottawa, Wilkinson said, aims to raise that percentage to 90%, in line with European targets for 2029.
He said that of the six plastic items that will be banned, there are already “readily available and affordable alternatives.”
“There are a lot of (plastics) that are going to have to continue to be single-use,” he added, “but they have to be the kind of thing that we can recycle, that we can keep in the economy. and not end up in the environment where they cause problems. “
Plastic lids on coffee cups have been highlighted as the most visible plastic waste in urban landfills. Wilkinson said he’s still working on a fix.
Ottawa has also proposed establishing requirements for recycled content in products and packaging, hoping to boost recycling and prompt better product design to extend the life of plastics.
“This could include a minimum requirement for recycled content in new products and greater responsibility of producers and sellers in the collection and recycling of plastics,” he said.
