Single-use plastics will be banned in Canada as soon as 2021.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Monday, listing what items are up for debate, including water bottles, plastic bags, straws, fast food containers, cotton swabs, drink stirrers, and balloon sticks.
Trudeau wrote in a tweet, “Canadians are tired of seeing our beaches, parks, streets and shorelines littered with plastic waste.”
Canadians are tired of seeing our beaches, parks, streets, and shorelines littered with plastic waste. Learn more about the action we’re taking to ban harmful single-use plastics: https://t.co/GZBt0K10Nt #BeatPlasticPollution pic.twitter.com/eZ0yT8ckY5
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 10, 2019
This decision follows in the footsteps of the European Union’s Parliament, which implemented a hefty ban on single-use plastics. The EU plans on having 90% of plastic bottles recycled by 2025 and halving the litter from the 10 items that turn up in oceans most often.
The changes are estimated to cost the bloc’s economy between $291 million to $781 million, but the cost for Canada has not been estimated.
“Many other countries are doing that, and Canada will be one of them,” Trudeau said. “This is a big step, but we know can do this for 2021.”
Canadians throw away over 34 million plastic bags every day and only recycle 9% of plastic waste.
“As parents we’re at a point when we take our kids to the beach and we have to search out a patch of sand that isn’t littered with straws, Styrofoam or bottles,” Trudeau said.
