In June 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an announcement to the country, that Canada will begin to ban single-use plastics. The announcement lacked details and caused a lot of confusion for the Canadian Foodservice industry which uses single-use plastics regularly as a part of food take-out programs.
In December 2021 the Federal Government issued Canada Gazzette 1 (CG1) which expresses their intent on which products to ban. The six products the government intends to ban are:
- Checkout bags – Also known as Shopping Bags or Take-Out Bags
- Cutlery
- Foodservice Take-Out Wares made from or containing “problematic plastics”. “Problematic” plastics are defined to include extruded or expanded polystyrene foam, polyvinyl chloride, oxo-degradable plastics, or plastic that contains the additive “carbon black.”
- Ring carriers
- Stir sticks
- Straws
After Announcing the CG1 the government is now in a 70-day period where they are waiting for input from various parties. Once this consultation completes, the government will issue CG2 which will establish the final regulations based on their consultations. Bans will begin 1 – 2 years after CG2 is released in a phased approach. This means the likely timeline for bans to start will be late 2023 or early 2024.
Possible Complications:
There is a lawsuit by the Responsible Plastics Use Coalition (RPUC), which represents major companies in the industry, their suit revolves around the government’s classification of plastics as ‘toxic’. If they win this case, then the regulations would be halted.
If the political climate changes in the next election, this topic may become an election topic, and could potentially be impacted.
Supply Chain – Currently there is little to no local manufacturing of alternatives to the proposed items above, for markets to adapt and build capacity it will be expensive and timely.
A1 Cash and Carry, wholesale food distributor Ontario, already has many alternatives that are more eco-cautious and will not be affected by this plastics ban. Also, being the highest rated Canadian wholesale supplier, we also carry commercial kitchen equipment, restaurant equipment supplies, produce, meats, grocery and many other items We will stand by our customer’s side to ensure this transition to a plastics free Canada will be as smooth as possible.
