Canada’s Ban on Single-Use Plastics
Zoe Hatsios
Canada is known for being the stereotypical ‘friendly neighbor’ of the United States - it’s looking like the term will extend over the Atlantic soon enough as well. What started as one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s campaign promises is set to bring full effect in 2021, just the first step of the government’s plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.
So what was this monumental move? Canada banned single-use plastics (products designed to be used once and then disposed of, including plastic grocery bags, straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery, and hard-to-recycle foodware). As of 2020, Kenya has the strictest ban - and 34 other countries have some sort of ban as well.
Countries are banning these products because they are incredibly harmful pollutants, especially for aquatic life. Canadians alone produce an estimated 3.3 million tons of plastic waste per year, and more than one-third of plastics are created for single-use.
These products have an average usage-life of 15 minutes, yet have the ability to kill over 1 million marine animals annually. This begs the question: why aren’t single-use plastics at least partially banned everywhere? Shockingly, some states in the US have legislation that preemptively prohibits bans on plastics. As with most environmental issues, there is a clear zero-sum cost-benefit calculation between economic/capitalist expansion and environmental dangers.
If several more European countries follow the trend of Canada, France, and the UK, for instance, it may suggest that the United States may take some efforts to follow suit. Especially in an era where every move China makes could propel Xi’s empire ahead of the US economy, it has become increasingly important for America to stay one step ahead in these types of matters. Only time will tell, but hopefully this news could provide an (although dim) light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ve linked some pages that will be worth your while to read, especially if you’d like more information on the topic. This is a hefty subject, but hopefully these quick facts were a helpful beginning to more thoughtful analysis on how this issue will be handled moving forward, and how environmental politics may have a future impact on international relations.
https://www.chatelaine.com/news/canada-single-use-plastic-ban-faq/
https://oceana.ca/en/blog/canadas-plastic-problem-sorting-fact-fiction
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/map-shows-the-complicated-landscape-of-plastic-bans/#close
https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/#:~:text=We%20are%20producing%20over%20380,at%20least%20several%20hundred%20years.