Canada Gets Ready for the Upcoming Single-Use Plastics Ban

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The ban imposed by Canada on six single-use plastic items will come into effect soon.

The ban was officially announced in June this year. As per the provisions of the ban, plastic bags, plastic stir sticks, six-pack rings, plastic utensils, plastic foodware and plastic straws were supposed to be outlawed in the country within six months. The federal government has been utilising these six months for communicating and educating the citizens and to also allow businesses to get rid of their stock of these plastic items.

The manufacturing and import of these six restricted items will come into effect on December 20^th. The items in transit from one country to another will be exempted, with regulations on exports due to come into effect only after three years. The items will be phased out over 2024 and 2025, so that the impact on Canadian businesses will be minimal.

Also, certain items such as flexible plastic straw are exempted from the ban. The retail businesses will be allowed to sell them in a restricted manner, by ensuring them that they are not easily accessible to everyone.

In preparation of the ban, many retail stores in the country have started phasing out single-use plastic shopping bags. Walmart was one of the frontrunners in eliminating single-use plastic bags at its countrywide outlets.