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CANADA WILL BAN single-use plastics as early as 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.
Trudeau declared it a “global challenge” to phase out the bottles, straws and plastic bags clogging the world’s oceans.
“I am very pleased to announce that as early as 2021 Canada will ban harmful, single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said, arguing Canada has a unique chance to lead to fight against plastic pollution as the country with the world’s longest coastline.
Trudeau said that in Canada less than 10% of plastics are currently recycled.
“You’ve all heard the stories and seen the photos. And to be honest as a dad it is tough trying to explain to my kids,” Trudeau said.
How do you explain dead whales washing up on beaches across the world, their stomachs jam-packed with plastic bags? How do I tell them that against all odds, you will find plastic at the very deepest point of the Pacific Ocean.
Straws, plastic bags, cutlery, plates and stir sticks would be among the items banned, a government statement said.
European plans
Last month, the European Council adopted a directive which introduces new restrictions on certain single-use plastic products, which includes a ban on single-use plastic straws, plates and cutlery by 2021.
They will set strict rules for reducing the type of products and packaging which are among the top ten most frequently found items polluting European beaches.
Where alternatives are easily available and affordable, single-use plastic products will be banned from the market, such as cutlery, plates and straws.
For other products, efforts will be made to limit their use through design and labelling, and clean-up obligations for those who manufacture them.
Member states have agreed to achieve a 90% collection target for plastic bottles by 2029, and plastic bottles will have to contain at least 25% of recycled content by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
The Commission said last year that 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste from the EU end up in the sea every year.
Includes reporting by © – AFP 2019
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I’m not suggesting single use plastic items should not be banned but in the West it’s really little more than self-satisfied virtue signalling at this stage given that most of the plastic waste in the oceans comes from Asia and Africa. Every little helps though! Now if only we could convince the rest of the world of that. Mind you Justin Trudeau is usually self-satisfied and virtue signalling anyways. This article gives a relatively clear outline of the source of the plastic waste in the oceans.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluting-our-oceans-comes-from-just-10-rivers/
@William Tallon: why not instant ban on plastic sure haven’t we got biodegradable plastic now are these boyos still doing oil companies favours at a cost to the planet.one wonders…
@William Tallon: A lot of countries pay Asia and other countries to take there plastic waste.
@Robert Phelan: I think it’s more to do with profits, laziness and being slow to change more than ‘Big Oil’ to be honest. Public pressure works eventually. It also does no harm for big companies to flaunt their green credentials as it’s good for business in the present climate, pun intended. If anyone from Big Oil is reading this then please get in touch. I’ll only be too happy to post lots of positive comments about you on the Journal site for a large fee. Just joking of course! But if anybody from Big Oil is actually reading this…
@William Tallon: The west never recycled any plastic- they sent it all to poor countries and there was zero accountability for what happened once it left our shores.
Disgusting fat overconsuming self satisfied Germans are now burning their “recycling” in open fires in Poland because they can’t chuck it into the ocean via China anymore.
How dare they do it before us Irish, don’t they know we do everything first, ban smoking in Public Places, bring in Marriage equality, proclaim ourselves Alcoholics. Our plan to be First to save the Planet is just ruined now.
@John Declan:
Socked us to it!
And who will pay for it, joe soap as usual
@Ian James Burgess: your kids and your grandkids Joe soap won’t earn much if we destroy the planet.
Fantastic
have your say