Provincial green purveyors pleased with plastic ban, urge domino effect

The ban could encompass items like plastic plates, cutlery, cups, straws, plastic sticks in cotton swabs, balloon sticks and stir sticks, and Styrofoam cups and take-out food containers, in line with products under scrutiny by the European Union and other nations.

Trudeau said the government will work with provinces and territories to introduce standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging so they become responsible for their plastic waste.

“Whether we’re talking about plastic bottles or cellphones, it will be up to businesses to take responsibility for the plastics they’re manufacturing and putting out into the world,” Trudeau said.

Though it said small business owners support measures to protect the environment, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) stressed the need for a thorough economic impact assessment before taking steps to implement the ban.

“It would be irresponsible to put such a sweeping measure into place without fully studying the possible impacts on Canada’s small businesses first,” CFIB president Dan Kelly said in a statement. “There is no reason why sound environmental policy and economic development can’t go hand-in-hand.”

But Jamie Charles, a restaurant owner in Air Ronge, made the decision eight months ago to go plastic free and said the community was very receptive.

“We have not altered any prices and to tell you the truth, we’ve become busier than we’ve ever been,” he said.

Charles added the change has also helped improve the integrity of the food. As a test, Charles placed a burger and fries in a styrofoam container, and also in a paper container, and let them sit for 15 minutes.

“In the styrofoam container, the food was soggy and just wasn’t enjoyable. But in the other container, your food was still fresh, and the fries were still crispy,” he said.

Charles said many of his customers have found other uses at home for the new paper containers, such as using them to store crayons or markers.

Less than 10 per cent of plastic used in Canada is recycled. About one-third of plastics used in Canada are for single-use or short-term products.

Nancy Carswell with the Council of Canadians Prince Albert Chapter said she was elated to hear the news. She said the target date of 2021 gives the private industry an appropriate amount of time to adjust but urges haste. However, she warned of unintended consequences, explaining how some jurisdictions where plastic bags were banned found residents turned to heavier lined plastic products.

“There has to be an alternative to the all the plastic going into the landfill,” she said, adding how the government will need to now support “those working on things like hemp or other biodegradable plastics.”

Carswell hopes the move will trigger a positive domino effect in addressing climate change. Eliminating plastic, she said, should heighten use for compostable plastics. That, in turn, should spur more composting on the way to regenerative agriculture, which sequesters more carbon, which can help the oceans recover.

“Unlike the carbon tax, it has physical consequences that could potentially be exponential,” she said.

Despite movement on the plastic file, Carswell doesn’t believe the push for action on plastics will end, as she said environmental and democratic activist groups continue to push all federal parties to incorporate climate justice into their platforms.

“Imagine where we would be if we had started this and listened to the science and First Nations people 10 years ago, 20 years ago or 30 years ago,” she said. “It is just the one per cent that is clinging so desperately to the status quo.”

— with files from Nigel Maxwell, The Canadian Press

—

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Provincial green purveyors pleased with plastic ban, urge domino effect

What's Trending