Well done Canada and Ministers Duclos and Guilbeault! In the face of stiff industry resistance, Canada has published final regulations to prohibit single-use plastics that, to-date, have been buried, burned or dumped after only a few minutes of use. These include:

• 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).

We’re very pleased the Ministers listened to Canadians’ concerns and removed the proposed loophole for manufacture for export of these same products to other countries. If these products are toxic to wildlife and people in Canada, they are just as toxic to wildlife and people in other countries.

This is the first critical step on the way to making and using less plastic and reaching Canada’s goal of zero plastic waste by 2030. We look forward to working with the Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada on next steps to ban more wasteful plastic products and packaging and to ensure reuse and refill options are widely available.