Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Canada will ban companies from importing or making plastic bags and Styrofoam takeout containers by the end of this year, their sale by the end of next year and their export by the end of 2025.
The move to ban exports will be a welcome change for several environment advocates who were dismayed that Canada’s initial plan was to ban the items at home but continue to ship them abroad.
Guilbeault is publishing the final regulations enacting the ban Monday. In addition to bags and takeout boxes, the ban will affect plastic straws, bags, cutlery, stir sticks and six-pack rings that hold cans and bottles. Read more: Guelph city council moves up start of single-use plastics ban There is some limited exception for straws to accommodate people with disabilities.
The federal government listed plastics as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act last year which paved the way for regulations to ban some.