A government source recently told CBC News that the Trudeau government will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021.
The full list of plastics that will be banned in Canada will look similar to the recent ban that the European Parliament passed on March 27, 2019.
In other words, the following products will be banned in the EU and are expected to be included in Canada’s ban as well:
- Single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks)
- Single-use plastic plates
- Plastic straws
- Cotton bud sticks made of plastic
- Plastic balloon sticks
- Oxo-degradable plastics and food containers and expanded polystyrene cups
Another element of the EU’s ban included new recycling targets and more responsibility for producers. Whether or not Canada will also factor similar elements into their strategy is still unknown as the prime minister and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna are scheduled to announce the new plastic strategy on Monday, June 10th.
Currently, Canada does not have a national framework for managing plastics or a national recycling target. And only about 11 percent of the plastic used in Canada is recycled and an estimated 10,000 metric tonnes of plastic end up in the Great Lakes every year. There are also no laws that require recycled materials be used in the manufacturing of new plastic goods, or incentives for producers that use recycled content.
Even though some municipalities have already made moves to reduce plastic waste, a national strategy is what we really need in this war on waste!