Following a recent vote by the European Parliament in favour of a complete ban on single-use plastics, and mounting public pressure by the thousands of Canadians, the House of Commons passed a motion to develop a national framework to reduce plastic pollution and eventually eliminate single-use plastics.
The Broadbent Institute congratulates MP Gord Johns for putting M-151 forward and receiving support from over two-thirds of members of the House of Commons, including Prime Minister Trudeau.
We now call on Prime Minister Trudeau to move swiftly in developing a framework that bans single-use plastics by 2021.
Action is needed now more than ever.
Plastic waste is choking our oceans, threatening to outweigh the amount of fish by 2050 if nothing is done1. Recent studies show microplastics are in our bodies. It’s only a matter of time before we discover resulting health impacts2.
Here in Canada, we have a long way to go when it comes to the phasing out of single-use plastics. We generate about 3.25 million tons of plastic waste every year3. 1.6 billion coffee cups sit in Canada’s landfills4. And Canadians throw out about 57 million plastic straws a day5.
Canada needs leadership. Join us in calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to continue his support for a national framework to reduce plastic pollution and follow the European Union’s lead by completely banning single-use plastics by 2021.
1. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/06/11/single-use-plastics-canada_a_23456208/ ↩
2. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/nine-different-plastics-found-in-human-stools-research-shows-1.3673256↩
3. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/06/11/single-use-plastics-canada_a_23456208/↩
4. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coffee-cup-recycling-fee-1.3274510↩
5. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/optional-straws-at-restaurants-part-of-vancouver-s-plastic-reduction-plan-1.3871650↩
