VANCOUVER – In reaction to the federal government’s announcement concerning its approach to zero plastic waste by 2030, Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada’s Head of Oceans & Plastics campaign, said:
“This ban list and announcement reflects more the work of the plastic industry and food sector to maintain our disposable ‘business as usual’ model than the federal government’s actual Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution. After three years of promising to tackle plastic waste and pollution, and to create a strategy that moves Canada towards zero plastic waste, the federal government has instead continued to largely rely on the recycling myth and a bare minimum ban list.
Sectors that benefit from the throwaway culture must innovate and rethink the way they deliver their products, and the government must incentivize a move to a zero waste economy while ensuring a just transition for workers. Instead of committing to massive reductions in plastic production and investing in reuse, refill and truly zero waste systems, this government is failing to put a meaningful dent in this crisis.
Wilkinson talks about microplastics being in the water and plaguing our oceans, but he doesn’t say, with a current recycling rate of 9%, how we’re going to get to the other 91% to prevent leakage. The only way to prevent toxic substances from getting into the environment is to ban all of them. The government says it wants to tackle the climate crisis, protect our oceans, and move toward a circular economy, but as long as single-use plastics continue to be produced at current rates, there is no incentive for companies to transition to cleaner and healthier reuse models.”
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For more information, please contact:
Loujain Kurdi, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Canada, [email protected]; +1 (514) 577-6657
