The document discusses Canada's efforts to address the problem of plastic pollution. It summarizes that Canada produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, with only 9% recycled. Recently, the Canadian government announced a ban on six categories of single-use plastic items such as bags, straws, and cutlery to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, the UN approved a plan to negotiate a global treaty by 2024 to curb plastic pollution worldwide. The bans target plastic goods that are difficult to recycle and have easy replacements, which experts say is an important initial step toward Canada's goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.
The document discusses Canada's efforts to address the problem of plastic pollution. It summarizes that Canada produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, with only 9% recycled. Recently, the Canadian government announced a ban on six categories of single-use plastic items such as bags, straws, and cutlery to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, the UN approved a plan to negotiate a global treaty by 2024 to curb plastic pollution worldwide. The bans target plastic goods that are difficult to recycle and have easy replacements, which experts say is an important initial step toward Canada's goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.
The document discusses Canada's efforts to address the problem of plastic pollution. It summarizes that Canada produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, with only 9% recycled. Recently, the Canadian government announced a ban on six categories of single-use plastic items such as bags, straws, and cutlery to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, the UN approved a plan to negotiate a global treaty by 2024 to curb plastic pollution worldwide. The bans target plastic goods that are difficult to recycle and have easy replacements, which experts say is an important initial step toward Canada's goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.
The document discusses Canada's efforts to address the problem of plastic pollution. It summarizes that Canada produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, with only 9% recycled. Recently, the Canadian government announced a ban on six categories of single-use plastic items such as bags, straws, and cutlery to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, the UN approved a plan to negotiate a global treaty by 2024 to curb plastic pollution worldwide. The bans target plastic goods that are difficult to recycle and have easy replacements, which experts say is an important initial step toward Canada's goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.
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Plastic Quest - The Search for Solutions
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Describe the benefits of plastic products.
2. How much plastic waste does Canada produce every year? How much is discarded and how much is recycled?
3. What measures did the Canadian government recently announce to address plastic pollution?
It poisons majestic sea creatures, or chokes the life out of them. It compromises the air we breathe and the food we eat. It fouls once-pristine beaches, gets trapped in ice – and will never entirely go away. What’s the culprit? Plastic. Yet the world keeps making more of this substance – nearly 400 million tonnes a year. And we continue to dispose of it irresponsibly. Scientists say that some eight million pieces of plastic enter the oceans daily. That’s two garbage trucks of plastic being dumped in our oceans every minute! Apart from the damage it does to marine life, the food chain, and our health, plastic also contributes to global warming. Made from petroleum, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it is burned as waste – and that increases carbon emissions.
Fantastic Plastic? So should we stop using plastic altogether? Most experts concede doing so wouldn’t be practical. After all, plastic is cheap to make, strong, lightweight, and malleable. Manufacturers rely on it to produce sports equipment, electronics, household goods, building materials, cars, medical implements, farming tools, personal protective equipment (PPE), and thousands of other items.
Level 2 • Issue 1 What in the World? -1-
On the other hand, Canada creates 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Only nine percent is recycled and 29,000 tonnes of it ends up in our natural environment. Clearly, we must do a better job of managing this pollutant. So where do we start?
The Last Straw
The obvious place to begin, says the federal government, is to outlaw plastic goods that we use only once and then toss away. So, Canada is banning six categories of these plastic items: checkout bags, plastic cutlery, takeout dishes made from plastics that are hard to recycle, plastic rings around packs of canned drinks, stir sticks (like the ones used for coffee), and drinking straws. There are some exceptions. Flexible straws are allowed for medical use, and plastic rings will be permitted a bit longer than the other items. The ban will happen in stages. By the end of 2022, companies must stop making or importing these items for use in Canada. The companies have until the end of 2023 to sell what they already have made. By the end of 2025, companies can no longer make these items at all—not even for export to other countries. “Our government is all-in when it comes to reducing plastic pollution,” said Steven Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
Global Effort Canada isn’t acting alone. Many nations recognize the need to rein in plastic waste. In the spring of 2022, world leaders, ministers and other representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for the United Nations Environment Assembly. On March 2, they announced a plan to create a global plastic pollution treaty by 2024. Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, called the plan “a triumph by planet Earth over single-use plastics.”
A Limited List If plastic is so bad, why is Canada banning only certain categories of items? There are a few reasons. In our lakes, rivers, and oceans, these products present dangers to wildlife. Plastic rings that hold together six- packs of drink cans, and plastic fishing nets and lines, entrap sea creatures of all sizes. Other plastic products, especially bags, look like food to many birds and marine species. Whales, sea turtles, dolphins, and seals frequently die after eating plastic debris. The stomachs of starving sea birds have been found stuffed with plastic. The banned plastics are also hard to recycle. Takeout containers and plastic straws are often contaminated with food waste, which means they can’t be recycled. Straws are usually made of polypropylene, which some recycling facilities can’t process. And because they’re so small and lightweight, they get lost in the sorting process. They end up mixing with other materials and contaminating them. They can also get stuck in the machinery. Finally, these are all items that can easily be replaced with choices that are better for the environment.
Level 2 • Issue 1 What in the World? -2-
Good Alternatives—Not Always Clear Cut But not all replacements are good ones. Some companies are using plastic wrap instead of plastic rings to hold their cans together. This just creates more plastic waste. And reusable grocery bags are a good idea… sort of. Just like an animal or plant, an object has a life cycle. Each stage of the life cycle has an impact on the environment. When we decide if something is environmentally friendly, we must look at every stage. That includes the raw material it comes from. Were trees cut down to create it? It also includes the work of turning the raw material into the finished product. What by-products were created along the way? The finished product must be moved to where it will be used or sold. How heavy or light is it to ship? A paper bag, for example, is heavier and bulkier than a plastic one. Fewer of them can be loaded on a truck. The final stage of the life cycle comes when the object is no longer useful. Will it end up in a landfill? How can it be safely disposed of? When all this is considered, a reusable bag has a bigger manufacturing impact than a plastic one. A paper bag needs to be used four to eight times before it is more environmentally friendly than a plastic one. A cotton bag needs to be used 50 to 100 times!
A Sustainable Future Many see the ban, and the United Nations’ resolution, as a cause for celebration. Others feel that we are still moving too slowly. They point out that the six categories of banned plastics make up only about three percent of the plastic waste that Canada produces in a year. Still, the ban is an important step in creating less plastic waste in Canada. Tony Walker is a professor of environmental studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He says it’s important for Ottawa to target the “low- hanging fruit,” like the easily-replaceable items on the list. It will encourage companies to give more thought to their use of plastics, going forward. Nova Scotia-based supermarket chain Sobey’s is already thinking ahead. In March, Sobey's created the Plastic Waste Challenge, inviting companies to come up with ways to replace the styrofoam and plastic packaging that’s used for meat. More plastic bans will come later. The federal government has set a target of 2030 to end completely the flow of plastic waste that litters our natural spaces or ends up in landfills. “Our ultimate goal is zero plastic waste,” Mr. Guilbeault says.
