The Canadian government has made strong legislative moves to cut down on plastic pollution. The new laws will attempt to cut down on so-called 'single-use' plastics, which involves plastics such as water bottles that are typically used only once and then disposed of.
Other forms of single-use plastic include drinking straws, drink packaging such as can-rings, plastic take-out containers, plastic one-use shopping bags, plastic cutlery and other unnecessary packaging. The goal of the new legislation is to make Canada a nation with zero plastic waste by the year 2030.
While many plastics can be recycled, much of the plastic created does not find itself in recycling plants. Instead, it finds itself in lakes, rivers and oceans and in land-fill sites. The plastic then pollutes the food supply of birds and fish which can lead to death from injury and poisoning, this in turn cuts the food supply for larger fish and mammals and affects the whole eco-system. Many toxins from plastics can also affect the human food-supply chain and our water-supply.
In many cases, particularly in terms of culinary items such as forks, spoons and drinking straws, as well as in the case of packaging, there already exists high-quality organic and bio-degradable alternatives that do not pollute the environment. These include wood forks, metal drinking straws, and organic packaging.
Despite wide-spread support for the new laws across the country and across Canadian politics, some small business owners have reacted with concern that they could be affected financially by the new legislation. The new laws of course come at a time when many small businesses are already struggling as a result of the pandemic. Others have said that the new environmental laws do not go far enough and are simply minor changes designed to look good to voters. The Canadian government, while banning single use plastic, has continued to allow oil-drilling and new oil-pipelines to be constructed much to the horror of environmental campaigners.
Many countries have already imposed bans on single-use plastic. By 2018 the United Nations estimated that 127 countries had already put in place relevant legislation to cut down on plastic-use. This has included countries both in the developed world, such as China and Australia, but also countries in the developing world such as Rwanda, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
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