Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

Canada has imposed a ban on single-use plastic products such as plastic bags and plastic lunch boxes. In addition to plastic bags and plastic lunch boxes, the "plastic ban" also covers single-use plastic cutlery, plastic straws, plastic stirring rods and six-pack plastic rings (a plastic item that holds beverages).

The ban was previously planned to be implemented in 2021, but was delayed due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. According to the report, the time plan for the ban is to ban the sale of the above six plastic products by the end of next year, and ban the export by the end of 2025. The Canadian government estimates that over the next 10 years, the ban will eliminate more than 1.3 million tons of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and more than 22,000 tons of plastic pollution. "These six common single-use plastics either wash up on our beaches or enter our oceans," said Melante, an activist with Ocean Conservation Canada. "In Canada, only 8% of plastic waste is recycled."

Canadian government figures show that as many as 15 billion plastic bags are used in the country each year, and single-use plastics make up the majority of the litter found on the country's coastlines.