Climate Change

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There is no evidence a federal ban on everyday plastic products will reduce plastic pollution, says the Department of Environment. An internal report contradicted claims by Minister Steven Guilbeault that banning six types of single use plastics would make a “sustainable world.”

“Given data gaps in the current understanding of plastic waste it is challenging to draw conclusions about the relative impact of the initiative on plastic waste in Canada as a whole,” said a department report. Researchers acknowledged “accurate and comprehensive accounting of the total amount of diverted plastic waste as a result of initiative activities is not available.”

The plastics ban to be enforced effective this December 31 was introduced on a promise it would reduce the volume of landfilled plastic. “An accurate and comprehensive accounting of the total amount of diverted plastic waste is not available which limits the ability of this evaluation to assess the extent to which progress toward this outcome has been achieved,” said the report Horizontal Evaluation Of The Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste In Canada Initiative.

Single Use Plastic Prohibition Regulations ban six types of plastic products: polystyrene food containers, cutlery, stir sticks, straws, grocery bags and six-pack rings. Use of alternatives will cost consumers $205 million next year while administration expenses to date total $64.4 million, by official estimate.

“We promised Canadians we would deliver a ban on certain harmful single use plastics,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said December 17. “We’re following through on that commitment.”

“We’re joining the global effort to reduce plastic pollution and protect our wildlife and habitats,” said Guilbeault. “There is a clear linkage between a world free of plastic pollution and a sustainable world.”

The Horizontal Evaluation report echoed research published in the March 2022 issue of the Marine Pollution Bulletin that the six types of plastics blacklisted in Canada were not the most commonly discarded plastic litter. “This ban fails to target litter categories that appear to make up most single use plastic litter found in Canada such as wrappers and bottle caps,” wrote Nova Scotia scientists at Dalhousie University and the Sable Island Institute.

“This study indicated current Canadian single use plastic measures are likely insufficient,” wrote researchers. The Marine Pollution Bulletin also noted a small number of food companies accounted for almost half of plastic litter: Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tim Hortons, Starbucks and McDonald’s.

“Understanding the main producers responsible for single use plastics in Canada through analysis of brand audit data will help to inform management approaches to reduce single use plastics and to mitigate marine litter,” said the Bulletin.

The newly-released Horizontal Evaluation report said the environment department did not know the scope of plastic litter at Canadian lakes, rivers and coastlines. “There is no clear estimate of the total amount of plastic waste in Canadian waters,” it said. “This makes it difficult, for example, to understand the relative impact of programs.”