Canada Bans Single-Use Plastic

Guest Blog from Karen Wirsig, Plastics Program Manager

Karen Wirsig, Plastics Program Manager, Environmental Defence made remarks at the announcement in Toronto, ON. Photo by: www.shaymarkowitz.com / Shay Markowitz

We finally did it! Canada’s single-use plastic bans are for real

Big news this week! With a series of live announcements held across the country, the federal government finally released the final regulations to ban six single-use plastics – straws, stir sticks, check out bags, cutlery, some takeout containers, and six pack rings. 

Pat yourself on the back. This is only happening because so many of us demanded it.

The bans will start to come into force this year, earlier than suggested in the draft regulations. The final rules also ensure that these harmful products can no longer be exported to other countries by the end of 2025. These improvements in the final regulations are the result of so many of us insisting on them.

Check out our Instagram Live and learn more about what the new single-use plastic bans mean, what they can accomplish and what still needs to be done.

By the end of 2022, companies will no longer be able to manufacture or import single-use plastic stir sticks, checkout bags, cutlery and certain takeout containers. The same rule will apply to six-pack rings in mid-2023. A year after the manufacture and import ban comes into effect, these items will no longer be allowed to be sold or given away with other products. Straws will continue to be available, but only in packages in retail stores intended for people who need them for medical and accessibility reasons.

The news was met with celebration, as these bans are an important first step in reigning in the plastic pollution crisis. But not everyone was feeling so joyous…

It’s sickening that the main producers of plastic in this country – including Nova Chemicals, Dow Chemical and Imperial Oil – are still trying to kill the government’s action on plastic pollution. Yes, the outrageous Big Plastic lawsuit against federal regulation of plastics is still before the courts. Now these same companies have sent a new round of letters to the government specifically to oppose the bans. 

Countries on every continent are imposing bans on plastic. It’s wonderful to see Canada join that club. 

By this time next year, we shouldn’t have to pick up any more used straws on the beach or fish plastic bags out of streams and tree branches. The government estimates that the bans will mean 1.3 million tonnes less of plastic waste over a ten-year period, and 22,000 tonnes less of plastic litter leaked directly into the environment. 

Of course there’s much more to do to end plastic pollution … including further bans on harmful single-use plastics and easy access to reusable and refillable packaging. And you can count on us to keep the pressure on to make sure these things happen – we hope you’ll join us. 

We’ll have more to announce on the next steps soon, so stay tuned!

- Karen Wirsig. Plastics Program Manager, Environmental Defence Canada

Learn more: https://environmentaldefence.ca/

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Here are five other ways to go #PlasticFree

By: Ashley Wallis,  Program Manager, Water,  Environmental Defence

Maybe we’ve finally seen enough photos of dead and dying animals choking on or entangled in plastic trash. Or maybe we’re rattled by reports that our bodies and drinking water (bottled and tap) are also contaminated with plastic bits. Whatever the reason, more people than ever want to do their part to help curb the flow of plastic into our lakes, rivers, and oceans. And that’s a great thing.

The good news is that all over the world folks are trying to go plastic free, or reduce the amount of plastic they use.

But where to start? We all know about saying no to plastic shopping bags and straws, but what next? We’ve put together a list of ways to ditch plastics for good which you might not have thought of.

1. Say “No” to single-use

So let’s start with the obvious.  Single-use plastics are the kind of plastics you use for only a few minutes before throwing them in the bin. Items like plastic bottles, shopping bags, coffee cups and drink straws fall into this category, but so do most take-away containers and produce bags. You can make a huge difference by refusing to buy or use these items in the first place.

Plastic bottles and coffee cups can be replaced with stainless steel or glass alternatives. And you don’t need to get fancy. I’ve taken a regular, clean mug to my local coffee shop and they’ve happily filled it. If you’re looking for a more portable option, you can use a canning jar and buy or make a cloth sleeve to protect your hand from the hot drink inside.

The Plastic Free July website has loads of awesome alternatives to single-use plastics.

And if you’re the kind of person who usually needs a “doggy bag” when you eat out, bring your own reusable containers to date night. Instead of leaving the restaurant with leftover spaghetti in a Styrofoam box wrapped in a plastic bag, you can bring your food home in a container you can wash and reuse over-and-over again.

Unfortunately, many takeout restaurants refuse to fill personal containers, citing concerns over food safety. If that’s the case, you should seriously consider taking action number two…

2. Tell businesses they need to do better 

A few fast food chains have recently announced plans to stop using plastic straws. This is a great first step, but there are lots of other problematic plastics businesses should kiss goodbye. For example, in many jurisdictions (including Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa) black plastic simply isn’t recyclable. That means coffee cup lids and takeout trays are destined for the landfill. If black plastic can’t be efficiently recycled, it shouldn’t be used.

“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.” – Pete Seeger

And what’s with packaging bell peppers in cellophane and avocados in plastic mesh sacks? This kind of packaging doesn’t do anything to protect or preserve your produce. If anything it encourages shoppers to over-buy, which can lead to unnecessary food waste.

If you have concerns, write, tweet, or call the companies you think are the worst offenders, and ask them to eliminate unnecessary packing. Kicking up a stink works, especially if lots of people do it.  And use your wallet as a tool for advocacy by choosing to support companies and products that use less useless plastic.

3. Rethink what you wear

Peppers aren’t the only things wrapped in plastic. There’s a good chance you are too. Many of the common modern fabrics and textiles we wear are actually made from plastic. Performance fleece, stretchy athletic wear, and really anything with polyester, spandex or nylon is made with plastic.

The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) industry has been singing its own praises for transforming used plastic bottles into performance fleece. But huge quantities of textiles end up in landfills every year. And before they even get there, these fabrics shed millions of microfibers into our rivers, lakes and oceans through laundering processes.

To decrease your impact, choose high-quality, durable clothes made from natural fibres like wool and hemp. And buy less, because all of this stuff inevitably ends up in the landfill, incinerator, or environment.

4. Join a beach clean-up event

Wondering where littered single-use plastics end up?  Last year, over 80,000kg of litter was collected from shoreline clean-up events across Canada. And most of the commonly collected items were – you guessed it – plastic.

If you want to get involved with a shoreline clean-up, Environmental Defence bookmark this website for upcoming events. If the timing or location doesn’t work out for you, you can join an existing clean-up or lead your own through the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

While shoreline clean-ups on their own won’t get us out of this mess, they’re a great way to roll-up your sleeves and help your local environment. They also provide vital data on the amount and types of plastic that are out there. But if we really want to end plastic pollution, we need to change the way we use, collect, and recycle plastic. And the best way to accomplish that is through point number five: government action.

5. Tell governments to do more

As individuals we have important choices to make, but the biggest change happens when we change the way a system operates. Over the last several decades, we’ve established a system that ignores massive costs to people and the environment. If it doesn’t have a price tag, it doesn’t seem to matter. Governments need to write new rules that make businesses financially responsible for the polluting plastics they put on the market. And we need a unified approach from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

We need federal, provincial, municipal, and Indigenous governments to work together to establish a national framework that moves Canada to a zero plastic-waste future.

If you agree, take action and tell government you want a plastic-free environment now. 

 

Energy East is all risk, with few rewards for Canadians

Energy East is a proposal by TransCanada Pipelines to create a network of old and new pipelines stretching over 4,500 km from southern Alberta to New Brunswick. TransCanada wants to use Energy East to ship 1.1 million barrels of tar sands oil a day.

If approved, Energy East would be the largest oil pipeline project in North America. It would even be larger than Keystone XL, another controversial TransCanada proposed pipeline. This mammoth pipeline would put over 125 communities, including 52 First Nations and Métis communities, at direct risk of an oil spill. And, it would put the water of millions of Canadians at risk.

Energy East is not a made in Canada oil solution. Most of the oil would be exported. Energy East is expected to export between 800,000 - 1,000,000 barrels of unrefined oil out of Canada every single day. That’s the equivalent to filling nearly 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools with oil – every day.

TransCanada will try to convince Canadians that this risky project is in Canada's interest. To help provide the public with insight on the truth about this project, Environmental Defence has put together this handy poster to show how Energy East is all risk, with few rewards for Canadians.

Help Environmental Defence spread the word about the risks of Energy East. Share the link to the poster on Facebook and Twitter. Print it out and put it up in your workplace, local businesses and libraries. And if you haven't yet, raise your voice about the risks of Energy East. Take action here.

To learn more about Energy East, and the work of Environmental Defence, visit: www.RejectEnergyEast.ca

Guest Blogger: 

Liza Smithies
Senior Development Officer

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