The Trudeau government is moving full steam ahead with the ban on single use plastics, which will be permanent law by the end of 2021. Unfortunately, businesses have no idea how to deal with it.
The Trudeau government is moving full steam ahead with the ban on single use plastics, which will be permanent law by the end of 2021. Unfortunately, businesses have no idea how to deal with it.
The end is coming for plastic grocery bags, straws and cutlery after the federal government announced today which single-use plastics will be covered by a national ban coming into effect next year.
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“People are very innovative in terms of that. What Canadians know is that there is far too much plastic going into our landfills and not being recycled. That needs to be cleaned up. It’s a commitment we made two years ago,” mentioned Trudeau during an interview in Wednesday in response to worried business owners.
“I am young enough to remember when my Big Mac came in a Styrofoam container and people made changes toward cardboard,” he continued.
“I mean stir sticks—we know lots of people are using wooden and cardboard stir sticks instead of plastic ones. This is something people understand… Moving forward on a ban on harmful plastics—its time has come.”
According to Global News, he also claimed in the interview that the government was working with industry partners to try and find alternatives, but none have been suggested to date.
This ban is coming in the middle of a pandemic where businesses like restaurants are not only already struggling to stay open, but have found they had to rely on single-use plastics more than ever, mainly because of government orders which ban in-restaurant dining.
The plastic items to be banned are: straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, plastic grocery bags, and utensils, along with other specialty items used for storing and serving food made from polystyrene or similar materials.
Businesses are upset, and have not responded favourably to the new proposed measures. According to this video, Canadians are more in favour of single-use plastics than ever as consumers, due to concerns over health and safety related to the novel coronavirus.
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