The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations were made under the authority of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), following the addition of “plastic manufactured items” to Schedule 1 of the Act in May 2021. The decision to add “plastic manufactured items” to CEPA was grounded in the findings of the Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution.
The six single-use plastic items being prohibited (checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws) were selected because they are commonly found in the environment, are harmful to wildlife and wildlife habitat, are difficult to recycle, and have readily available alternatives.
To enable industry to adapt to the changes, the Regulations will be implemented on the following phased timeline:
| Item | Manufacture and import for sale in Canada | Sale | Manufacture, import and sale for export |
| Checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks, straws* | 20-Dec-2022 | 20-Dec-2023 | 20-Dec-2025 |
| Ring carriers | 20-Jun-2023 | 20-Jun-2024 | 20-Dec-2025 |
| Flexible straws packaged with beverage containers | Not applicable | 20-Jun-2024 | 20-Dec-2025 |
*Single-use plastic flexible straws that are not packaged with beverage containers are excluded from the prohibitions under certain conditions.
The choice and design of future instruments to address plastic pollution from other single-use plastics will build on the Roadmap to Strengthen the Management of Single-use and Disposable Plastics released by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment earlier this year. The Roadmap identifies some 30 single-use and disposable plastics and provides guidance on prioritizing those items for targeted management and selecting instruments that may be effective for managing each of them.
This publication is part of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments’ collective implementation of the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste to move Canada toward its goal of a zero plastic waste future.
The momentum to address single-use and disposable plastics is on the rise in Canada, with initiatives by all levels of government and by businesses. This momentum complements the Government of Canada’s Regulations.
This is an excerpt from the 17 December 2022 news release from Environment and Climate Change Canada.