WASHINGTON, DC – Canada’s Environment Ministry has announced that it will ban the import and manufacture of harmful single-use plastics like plastic grocery bags, cutlery and straws by the end of 2022. The domestic sale of these items will be prohibited beginning in December of 2023 and exports will end in 2025. Nicholas Mallos, senior director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas® Program, issued the following statement:

“Given that over 11 million metric tons of plastics enters our ocean each year and plastics production is expected to triple by 2060, it is critical that governments join the fight against plastic pollution. Canada’s decision to ban single-use plastics is a decisive win for our ocean and the environment.

“What makes this so important is that they are targeting several of the items most commonly found on beaches and in waterways. Globally, Ocean Conservancy data show that more than half of the most common items littering our beaches and waterways over the past 35 years are single-use plastic packaging and food ware. In 2019 alone, over 30,000 volunteers collected more than 369,000 pieces of trash totaling over 62,000 kilos from beaches and waterways across Canada as part of Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup®.

“Ocean Conservancy is thrilled that Canada has taken such a bold step to quickly phase out single-use plastics, protecting marine life and environments.”

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