The ban beginning December 2022 is set to include single-use plastic items like shopping bags, cutlery, food-service ware made from or containing plastic that is hard to recycle, six-pack ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws.
On Monday, the Canadian government said “The ban on the manufacture and import of these harmful single-use plastics, barring a few targeted exceptions to recognize specific cases, will come into effect in December 2022,”.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said that the country will also be banning the exportation of these single-use plastic items by the end of 2025.
The initial plan on single-use plastics excluded the ban on exportation. Last year, the government of Canada listed plastics as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
During the announcement, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said “Our government is all-in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution,”.
Adding that the government isn’t ruling out banning other single-use plastics as well, “We have not closed the door to banning certain other single-use plastics.”
“We’re starting with these ones because based on the data we have, these are the most harmful plastic substances, but it may be the case that we decide in the near future to ban some others.”
