The feds to ban plastic straws and bags by the end of next year: Guilbeault

It’s the end of the days for plastic bags and Styrofoam to go packaging in Canada.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Tuesday released draft regulations outlining how Canada will ban the manufacture, sale and import of these items, along with plastic cutlery, stirring rods, straws and six-pack rings, for purposes of the next year.

The regulations describe how each of the products will be defined: Plastic bags, for example, are those made of plastic film that will tear or tear if used to transport 10 kilograms back and forth 53 times.

Flatware includes forks, knives, spoons, forks, and chopsticks that will start to melt if soaked in hot but not boiling water.

There are some exceptions to single-use flexible plastic straws to accommodate people with disabilities and those who need them for medical purposes.

The public can provide written comments on the draft regulations until March 5, and the timing of the final regulations will depend on how many comments are received. The World Trade Organization rules mean that Canada must allow a gradual transition period of six months once the final regulations are published, but Guilbeault said he expects them to take effect by the end of 2022.

He said that the ban is only part of the story because what is not prohibited must be recycled.

“I mean, rightly so, a lot of people are focusing on prohibition and that’s important,” he said. “But one of the biggest challenges we have is getting our house in order when it comes to recycling.”

A 2019 Deloitte report commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada said 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste was dumped in 2016 and less than a tenth of it was recycled.

So there were only 12 recycling companies in the entire country. Canada set a goal of recycling 90 percent of plastic waste by 2030 and Guilbeault said work is underway to standardize and coordinate recycling across all provinces. Also yet to come are standards for plastics to make them easier to recycle, as well as a requirement that half of all plastic packaging must be made from recycled material, he said.

Feds mobilize to ban plastic straws and bags by the end of 2022: @s_guilbeault. #CDNPoli

In 2016, almost 30,000 tons of waste ended up in the environment, polluting rivers, beaches and forests with discarded coffee cups, water bottles, shopping bags and food packaging.

“People are tired of seeing this garbage on our streets and I think some of the powerful images that we have seen in the world of plastic waste affecting our ecosystem have really reached people,” Guilbeault added. “So they want us to move and we are moving.”

Sarah King, director of Greenpeace Canada’s oceans and plastics campaign, said the government is moving too slow and not going far enough. King wanted all single-use plastics to be banned, including plastic bottles, cigarette filters, coffee cups, and food wrappers.

“Canadians have been waiting for a long time for the federal government to take strong and urgent action to address plastic waste and pollution and these regulations definitely do not reflect that call to action,” he said.

King said the government should also focus its energy and money on transitioning from single-use and recycling strategies to reuse and recharge.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in June 2019 that a ban on single-use plastics would be in effect starting this year, but the pandemic delayed scientific evaluation that ultimately declared plastics “toxic” and I’d work on which ones to target.

In May, the companies came together under the slogan Coalition for the Responsible Use of Plastic, which has now sued the government over designating plastics as toxic.

The coalition argues that the designation is defamatory and damaging to its industry, which produces many crucial products that are not harmful. A coalition spokesman said Tuesday that the government should have waited until the case is concluded before moving forward with the ban.

Guilbeault said the demand has no effect on regulatory progress, “just as the demand on the carbon price did not interfere with our implementation of carbon pricing in Canada.”

This Canadian Press report was first published on December 21, 2021.

Reference-www.nationalobserver.com

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