The federal government has announced that Canadians can expect to see final regulations for single-use plastics come into effect by the end of 2022. This ban will require businesses, retailers, and restaurants across Canada to pivot quickly to ensure their businesses are not only compliant with these new regulations, but also sustainable and environmentally conscious.
A spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada, Samantha Bayard, said a draft of the proposed regulations will be published in the coming weeks. Once the final regulations are published, there will be a transitional period for retailers and other companies to comply with the ban before it takes effect.
The items expected to be banned are: plastic checkout bags, drinking straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery, and tableware/takeout containers made from hard-to-recycle plastics. It is part of the federal government’s larger plan to eventually eliminate all plastic waste in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Canadians discard three million tonnes of plastic waste each year, and only nine percent of it is recycled. The majority of plastics discarded as waste in 2016 were packaging materials; this includes items commonly used in the food and beverage sector.
Additionally, both Starbucks Canada and Tim Hortons have each pledged to phase out the use of plastic straws in locations across Canada. As of now, all 1,376 Starbucks locations in Canada are plastic-straw-free.
Always looking to the future; Greenlid offers plastic-free solutions. All of our products, including our cutlery and disposable tableware items, are fully compostable and biodegradable. We use natural materials like bamboo, birch, and palm leaf to ensure that our entire product line is outside of any future single-use plastic bans across North America.
Send us an email if your business, retail location, or restaurant is looking to make a sustainable switch to compostable products! Or, fill out this form for a free sample pack - for the foodservice industry.