CAN/661
WTO/TBT
CA Canada
  • 39 - Matières plastiques et ouvrages en ces matières
2022-03-05
2022-01-12

Refuse sacks and bags, of polymers of ethylene (HS Code 3923219010); Sacks and bags, including cones, of polymers of ethylene (HS Code 3923299090); Sacks and bags, including cones, of plastics (HS Code 3923299000); Utensils, kitchenware, of plastics (HS Code 3924100091); Disposable tumblers & cups of plastics (HS Code 3924100093); Other disposable tableware, of plastics; and (HS Code 3924100094); Kitchenware, of plastics (HS Code 3924100099).; Sacks and bags, incl. cones, of polymers of ethylene (HS 392321); Sacks and bags, incl. cones, of plastics (excl. those of polymers of ethylene) (HS 392329); Tableware and kitchenware, of plastics (HS 392410)

Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations; (108 pages, available in English and French)

The proposed Single-Use Plastic Prohibition Regulations (the proposed Regulations) would prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of six categories of single-use plastic items (i.e., single-use plastic checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware made from or containing problematic plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws). Manufacture and import for the purposes of export would not be subject to the proposed prohibition. Checkout bags, cutlery, and straws have reusable substitutes so the proposed Regulations would identify performance standards to differentiate between single-use and reusable items for these three product categories. The Regulations would also provide exemptions for straws to accommodate people with disabilities. These exemptions are linked to the conditions upon which straws are sold. The prohibitions on sale of straws would come into force one year after the regulation's publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The prohibition on sale for all other single use items would come into force two years after the regulations are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The prohibitions on manufacture and import of all six single use items would come into force one year after registration in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

The six categories of single-use plastic items subject to the proposed Regulations are commonly found on Canadian shorelines and terrestrial litter clean-ups. The Government estimates that the proposed Regulations would prevent 23,000 tonnes of plastic pollution over a period of ten years. A range of evidence sources, including peer-reviewed studies, show that the items, when littered, likely pose a threat of harm to wildlife through entanglement, ingestion or habitat disruption. The six categories of single-use plastic items also present barriers to fostering a circular economy in Canada that would keep plastics in the economy and out of the environment because they have low recycling rates, are known to hamper recycling or wastewater treatment systems, and have barriers to increasing recycling rates. Eliminating these products from the Canadian market would remove key irritants from value recovery systems and improve their efficiency.