Today, Minister Wilkinson announced next steps in the Government of Canada’s plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.
- The plan for which plastic to ban is based on 3 criteria:
- They are being commonly found in the environment
- They are often not recycled
- They have readily available alternatives
- By end of 2021, the plan is to ban:
- plastic grocery bags
- straws
- stir sticks
- six-pack rings
- cutlery
- food ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics
- The plan also proposes improvement to recover and recycle plastic, so it stays in our economy and out of the environment. The government is proposing to establish recycled content requirements in products and packaging, which will drive investment in recycling infrastructure and spur innovation in technology and product design to extend the life of plastic materials
- Aiming to reduce 1.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year and create approximately 42,000 jobs across the country
The Government wants to hear from Canadians and stakeholders on this approach to protect the environment from plastic pollution and reduce waste through a more circular economy.
- Comments will be accepted until December 9th, 2020
- Regulations will be finalized by the end of 2021
The Minister also announced over $2M through the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative for 14 new Canadian-led plastic reduction initiatives. These projects are led by communities, organizations, and institutions, and will promote the development of new and innovative solutions to prevent, capture and remove plastic pollution from the environment.
