MONTREAL, June 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada will ban single-use plastics from 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced, declaring it a “global challenge” to phase out the plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging the world’s oceans.
“I am very pleased to announce that as early as 2021, Canada will ban harmful, single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said, arguing Canada has a unique chance to lead the fight against plastic pollution as the country with the world’s longest coastlines.
Less than 10 percent of plastics used in Canada are currently recycled, he said.
Each year, a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals worldwide are injured or killed by becoming entangled in plastic or ingesting it through the food chain.
Single-use items represent about 70 percent of the plastic waste littering the marine environment.
Straws, plastic bags, cutlery, plates and stir sticks would be among the items banned, a government statement said. The list will be refined based on further scientific research between now and 2021.
The environmental group Greenpeace called the government’s announcement “the first step” but said ultimately Canada needs to move towards phasing out a wider array of “all non-essential plastics.”
It called for quick action “so this announcement isn’t a single-use election promise.”
The environment is shaping up as an issue in Canadian legislative elections set for October.
Trudeau said producers of other plastics — such as bottles or food packaging — will be held responsible for “the entire life-cycle” of their products.
Both plastic manufacturers and the companies using their products, as in packing materials, will have to provide recycling plans.
Several Canadian cities already ban the use of plastic bags and some provinces have banned other products.
But Trudeau said a “national solution” was needed.
“Every year, Canadians throw away over three million tons of plastic waste,” he said in a statement. “This represents up to $8 billion per year in lost value and wastes valuable resources and energy.”
Recycling would not only cut down on pollution but would help produce 42,000 jobs in the recycling and recovery businesses, the prime minister said. — NNN-AGENCIES
