The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to impose a wide-ranging ban on single-use plastics to counter pollution from discarded items that end up in waterways and fields. Now, Canada is following in their lead.
Which items will be banned will be determined based on a science-based review. Until they know for certain, the government is considering items such as water bottles, plastic bags, and straws – all choices that have drawn inspiration from the EU ban.
The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said that “as early as 2021, Canada will ban harmful single-use plastics from coast to coast.” From the banks of a lake in Gault nature reserve in Quebec, Trudeau announced the bold move. He said: “This is a big step but we know can do this for 2021.”
This announcement is coming less than five months before a national election in which climate change and pollution are among the top campaign issues. However, the election isn’t the only motivating factor.
Trudeau said:
To be honest, as a dad, it’s tough trying to explain this to my kids. How do you explain dead whales washing up on beaches around the world, their stomachs jam-packed with plastic bags? As parents we’re at a point when we take our kids to the beach and we have to search out a patch of sand that isn’t littered with straws, Styrofoam or bottles. That’s a problem, one that we have to do something about.
3 million tons of plastic waste is tossed out by Canadians every year. Less than 10% of this plastic used and discarded actually gets recycled. That’s a big unnecessary problem since reasonable alternatives do exist. According to the Canadian government, 15 billion plastic bags are used in Canada every year, along with 57 million plastic straws every day.
Yet, what really instigated this need to act quickly was China’s decision to no longer import plastic waste. When that happened Canada started sending it to Southeast Asia. However, they didn’t want the garbage either.
The Philippines complained about being treated like a dumpsite and then sent back 69 containers of what its officials called illegally transported garbage back to Canada! As they saw the mountain of plastic accumulating in their own backyard, a growing urgency mounted and a ban became the solution.
Trudeau said:
Canadians know first-hand the impacts of plastic pollution, and are tired of seeing their beaches, parks, streets, and shorelines littered with plastic waste. We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to come.
Of course, there will be exceptions. There are some cases where single-use plastics are really useful – for instance, plastic straws are a necessity for some people with disabilities, and plastic gloves and packaging are often necessary for medical and scientific settings. When the time comes, the Canadian government will have to reconcile those needs with the health and environmental effects it’s trying to address.
