Canada: Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations -

The proposed Single-Use Plastic Prohibition Regulations would prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of six categories of single-use plastic items (i.e., single-use plastic checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware made from or containing problematic plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws).

Checkout bags, cutlery, and straws have reusable substitutes so the proposed Regulations would identify performance standards to differentiate between single-use and reusable items for these three product categories.

The Regulations would also provide exemptions for straws to accommodate people with disabilities.

The prohibitions on manufacture and import of all six single use items would come into force one year after registration in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The six categories of single-use plastic items subject to the proposed Regulations are commonly found on Canadian shorelines and terrestrial litter clean-ups

The Government estimates that the proposed Regulations would prevent 23,000 tonnes of plastic pollution over a period of ten years. A range of evidence sources, including peer-reviewed studies, show that the items, when littered, likely pose a threat of harm to wildlife through entanglement, ingestion or habitat disruption. The six categories of single-use plastic items also present barriers to fostering a circular economy in Canada that would keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment because they have low recycling rates, are known to hamper recycling or wastewater treatment systems, and have barriers to increasing recycling rates. Eliminating these products from the Canadian market would remove key irritants from value recovery systems and improve their efficiency.