Canada to ban single-use plastics

The Government of Canada has moved forward with the plan to ban single-use plastics. Final regulations were published to prohibit single-use plastics including checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws (with some exceptions).

“We promised Canadians we would deliver a ban on single-use plastics,” said The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “That’s exactly what we’ve done. By the end of the year, you won’t be able to manufacture or import these harmful plastics. After that, businesses will begin offering the sustainable solutions Canadians want, whether that’s paper straws or reusable bags. With these new regulations, we’re taking a historic step forward in reducing plastic pollution and keeping our communities and the places we love clean.”

The ban on the manufacture and import of these single-use plastics, barring a few targeted exceptions to recognize specific cases, will come into effect in December 2022. To provide businesses in Canada with enough time to transition and to deplete their existing stocks, the sale of these items will be prohibited as of December 2023. The government will prohibit the export of plastics in the six categories by the end of 2025, making Canada the first among peer jurisdictions to do so internationally.

Over the next decade, this world-leading ban on single-use plastics will result in the estimated elimination of over 1.3 million tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and more than 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution, which is equivalent to over a million garbage bags full of litter.