Imagine this: we could eliminate the equivalent of over a million garbage bags full of garbage every year. Canada is trying to do just that, because that northern country has just enacted the world’s leading ban on harmful disposable plastics. The ban will result in an estimated elimination of over 1.3 million tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and more than 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution.
The United States contributes more to the flood of pollutants than any other nation, producing about 287 pounds of plastic per person per year.
The Government of Canada is taking a leading role among its international counterparts in banning harmful plastics and keeping it out of the environment. The June 20 statement lists final regulations banning disposable plastics, including:
- checkout bags
- cutlery
- food utensils made from problematic plastic that is difficult to recycle or that contains
- ring carriers
- mix the sticks
- most straws
Three milestones for the target year are presented:
- Plastic production will end in December 2022.
- The sale of plastics will be banned from December 2023 (18 months in between should allow companies enough time to switch and deplete their existing stocks).
- The export of plastic in 6 categories will be banned until the end of 2025.
The action is part of a larger agenda that demonstrates leadership that will protect biodiversity, promote a healthy environment at home and around the world, and help meet obligations under the Ocean Plastics Charter and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Brief facts about harmful plastics
In Canada, up to 15 billion plastic check-out bags and about 16 million straws a day are used. Disposable plastics like this make up most of the plastic waste found on coasts across Canada.
Sales of flexible disposable plastic straws will be restricted from December 2023. Exceptions to the ban on straws allow plastic flexible disposable straws to remain available to people in Canada who need them for medical or accessibility reasons. This includes use at home, in social settings, or in healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities. All other types of disposable plastic straws will be banned.
Prohibitions on the production and import of ring holders and flexible straws packed in beverage containers (e.g. juice boxes) will take effect in June 2023, and a ban on the sale of these items will take effect in June 2024. timelines recognize the complexity associated with redesigning production lines for these products.
The government has also released two guidance documents: one to help businesses comply with regulations, and the other to help businesses and people in Canada choose more sustainable alternatives to disposable plastics.
Published on October 7, 2020, a report entitled Scientific Assessment of Plastic Pollution helped inform about the development of Canadian policy and actions and guide research on plastic pollution in Canada.
The draft rulebook was published in Canada GazettePart I, for a period of 70 days for comment on 25 December 2021. The feedback received has been taken into account in drafting the final regulations.
Moving toward a more circular plastic economy could reduce carbon emissions by 1.8 megatons a year, generate billions of dollars in revenue and create approximately 42,000 jobs by 2030.
In early summer, the Government of Canada will begin consultations on access to the Federal Public Plastic Register and the development of labeling rules to prevent the use of arrow symbols racing on plastic items unless at least 80% of Canada’s recycling facilities accept and have reliable end markets.
USA and harmful plastics
Some states have made partial efforts, and New York introduced a 2020 ban on single-use plastic bags. Earlier this month, a California law was introduced to reduce the production of plastics for disposable products such as shampoo bottles and food wrappers by 25% starting in the next decade.
The United States ranks as the world’s leading contributor to plastic waste and needs a national strategy to combat the problem, according to a report approved by Congress. In it, the authors remind that the generation of plastic waste is directly related to the amount of plastic produced and used.
Contamination with harmful plastics is a specific example of pollution devastation today. The visibility of global oceanic plastic waste, for example, combined with growing documentation of its ubiquity, devastating impacts on ocean and marine wildlife health, and transportation through the food web, has led to wider public awareness. The report states that, in theory, solid waste managed in the U.S. should not contribute to ocean plastic waste, the authors say, because it is contained in treatment and / or conversion into other products (recycling, composting, incineration) or contained in projected landfill environment.
In practice, plastic waste continues to “leak” from the waste management system when discharged from garbage cans, intentionally or unintentionally through actions such as illegal dumping and dumping, or where it is unregulated. Recycling presents many challenges, including the incompatibility of different types of plastics and large differences in processing requirements.
On World Ocean Day, June 8, 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued Secretary’s Order 3407, which aims to reduce the procurement, sale and distribution of disposable plastic products and packaging with the aim of phasing out disposable plastics. products on land managed by the Ministry until 2032. The order is part of the implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14057, which calls on federal agencies to minimize waste and support markets for recycled products. These include plastic and polystyrene containers for food and drink, bottles, straws and cups.
Final Thoughts
A resolution adopted by the United Nations in March outlines an ambitious plan to develop a legally binding agreement to reduce plastic waste. A global agreement to “end plastic pollution” could lead to restrictions on plastic production or the imposition of rules to make plastics lighter and less toxic for reuse.
“High and rapidly rising levels of plastic pollution pose a serious environmental problem globally,” the UN resolution said, recognizing “the urgent need to strengthen global coordination, co-operation and governance in order to take urgent action towards long-term … elimination of plastic pollution. ”
However, the proposed agreements are tentative and have been rejected by the oil and petrochemical industries.
US Orders is a starting point, but will have a comprehensive approach to address the issue of American harmful plastics. Start locally. Contact your favorite beverage vendor and ask for refill containers. Invite corporations that use liners to hide their responsibilities in plastic production. Be a pest to your state legislators and ask them to hold plastic pollutant manufacturers accountable.
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