After China and the European Union, Canada became the latest country to announce a ban on single-use plastic.
The final regulations, published in a statement this week, put the kibosh on everything from checkout bags to ring carriers, but with a few targeted exceptions.
The ban on manufacture and import of the banned plastics will come into effect in December of this year, with the ban on the sale of the items coming into effect in December of 2020. Canada will be the first country to ban the export of single-use plastic by the year 2025.
Trudeau addressed the issue back in 2019. He wrote that they are keeping their promise to ban harmful single-use plastic.
Over the next 10 years, this ban will result in the elimination of over 1.3 million tons of plastic waste and more than 22,000 tons of plastic pollution. It's equal to a million garbage bags.
There are a lot of numbers. According to the government, Canadians use up to 15 billion plastic grocery bags a year.
Environmentalist groups were happy with the news and encouraged more action.
The release of the regulations is a critical step forward, but we still aren't at the beginning. The ban list needs to be expanded by the government.
The United States has not yet announced a ban on plastic pollution.
By 2032, the Biden administration wants to ban single-use plastic products from public lands. Plastic bags and single-use product packaging have been tried by individual states.
Plastic pollution is considered to be one of the biggest environmental issues facing humanity today, along with a laundry list of other pressing issues. Garbage collection and recycling efforts haven't made much of a difference. Only if we agree to drastically curb production, like Canada, will we be able to stop ourselves from getting plastic trash in the first place.
Canada banned single-use plastic to combat pollution.
China has announced a plan to ban single-use plastic.
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