Canada publishes final regulations to prohibit single-use plastics

The federal government published final regulations to prohibit single-use plastics.

The regulations would prohibit checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from or containing problematic plastics that are hard to recycle, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws (with some exceptions).

The government says the ban on the manufacture and import of these single-use plastics, barring a few targeted exception to recognize specific cases, will come into effect in December 2022. It says in order to give businesses enough time to transition and to deplete their existing stocks, the sale of the plastics will be prohibited as of December 2023.

Canada also says it will prohibit the export of plastics in the six categories by the end of 2025.

“We promised Canadians we would deliver a ban on single-use plastics. Today, 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,” said Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, in a statement. “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.”

Over the next decade, the government says the 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 bags full of litter.