Beaches, parks, streets, shorelines, and other places that Canadians care about are covered in plastic. The public is now demanding action.
There is a long-term plan to deal with plastic pollution that includes a ban on some single-use plastics in the short term. There is a lot of evidence, facts, and rigorous science behind the Government of Canada’s decision to ban single-use plastics. A report called the Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution was released by the government in October 2020. It looked at hundreds of scientific studies and other sources of evidence and found that plastic pollution is everywhere in the environment and that it has negative effects on the environment. In the near future, the Government of Canada will put out draft guidance for businesses on how to meet the new regulations.
Recycling is already the norm
Plastics that can be easily recycled play a big part in the lives of many Canadians, but only 9% of plastic waste is being recycled right now, the government says. Because these regulations are part of a plan to reduce plastic pollution by taking into account the whole lifecycle of plastics, they are important. Another important part of the plan is to set up regulations to make sure that recycled content is used in certain plastic products.
At the local level, cities like Vancouver and Toronto are working to cut down on single-use plastics, clean up litter, and better manage plastic waste. A lot of provinces and territories are also taking steps to improve the way they deal with plastic waste, too. Federal, provincial and territorial governments signed on to the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste in November 2018. This plan lays out how plastics could be reused and recycled, as well as how the Government of Canada and its partners will work together to make this happen. It is part of the Canada-wide Strategy and action plan to make sure that companies that make, import, or sell plastic products and packaging are responsible for collecting and recycling them in a coordinated, fair way across Canada.
