{"id":71256,"date":"2025-06-30T14:30:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=71256"},"modified":"2025-07-02T14:36:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T18:36:38","slug":"saying-no-to-plastic-at-the-checkout-how-small-actions-are-adding-up-to-big-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/71256\/saying-no-to-plastic-at-the-checkout-how-small-actions-are-adding-up-to-big-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Saying \u201cno\u201d to plastic at the checkout: How small actions are adding up to big change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Think saying \u201cno thanks\u201d to plastic products is no big deal? Think again.<\/p>\n\n

Every year, the world makes over 400 million tonnes of new plastic<\/a>. Almost half of that is used once and tossed. Less than 10%<\/a> gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, oceans, and even inside animals. <\/p>\n\n

Plastic waste is often dumped far from where it was used, leaving the communities who are least responsible for the problem to face the greatest impacts. Richer countries, like Canada, send their plastic waste to poorer countries, like Malaysia or Indonesia<\/a>. There, much of it is burned, polluting the rivers and the air and making people sick.<\/p>\n\n

As if all that\u2019s not enough, there\u2019s another problem with plastic. It\u2019s made from fossil fuels, the things heating up our planet and causing the climate crisis.
That\u2019s why more and more people are saying \u201cno\u201d to plastic and sparking a global movement that is moving mountains \u2026 of plastic pollution!<\/p>\n\n

Living a zero-waste life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
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Plastic free products in a zero-waste shop in Kyoto, Japan. Totoya was the first zero-waste supermarket in Japan. \u00a9 Juan Pablo Mayol \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

A zero-waste lifestyle is all about cutting trash. The goal? Send as little as possible to the landfill. To become a zero waster, refuse<\/strong> what you don\u2019t need, reduce<\/strong> what you buy, reuse<\/strong> what you can, recycle<\/strong> when needed, and rot<\/strong> (compost) the rest.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s not only about trying to fit a year\u2019s worth of garbage into a mason jar (though some people do!) It\u2019s about rethinking habits, like how much food you waste or whether you could use a reusable container from home rather than a plastic takeout container.<\/p>\n\n

Zero-waste stores have popped up in cities from Vancouver to Charlottetown. Here, customers bring their own containers from home to fill with food or personal care or cleaning products. No plastic packaging required! The number of zero-waste stores is growing around the world, and it\u2019s only the beginning.<\/p>\n\n

Even big chain stores are listening. Bulk Barn now lets customers bring their own refillable containers to fill in many stores. Why? Because enough people asked for it.<\/p>\n\n

Zero wasters have shown that it\u2019s possible to live with less plastic. But they\u2019ve also shown how hard it is to avoid plastic in a throwaway world.<\/p>\n\n

So why is it up to individuals to fix plastic pollution, when companies are still pumping out so much plastic?<\/p>\n\n

Calling out corporate polluters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Many people, including zero wasters, have started demanding change from the companies making and using all this plastic in the first place.<\/p>\n\n

One powerful example is the Break Free From Plastic movement. Volunteers around the world clean up plastic litter and then sort it by brand. Year after year, the top polluters are the same \u2013 Coca-Cola, Nestl\u00e9, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.<\/p>\n\n

These companies and others have come under massive public pressure to stop using so much plastic, especially single-use plastic packaging. They\u2019ve made promises to use less plastic and make packaging that is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. But promises aren\u2019t enough. That\u2019s why activists are keeping the pressure on and also demanding that governments step in.<\/p>\n\n

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Volunteers sort plastic waste during a brand audit in San Juan City, Philippines. Brand audits are part of the Break Free From Plastic movement and are organized in many countries to collect data on the biggest corporate plastic polluters. \u00a9 Basilio Sepe \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Calling on governments to say goodbye to plastic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

People have been pushing governments to act on plastic pollution. And it\u2019s working!<\/p>\n\n

The first plastic bag ban in North America happened right here in Canada, in Leaf Rapids, Manitoba in 2007. More bans followed. In 2018, Montreal banned lightweight plastic shopping bags, becoming the largest Canadian city to do so and helping to set the stage for even more action across Canada, like regulations against other kinds of single-use plastics.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In 2022, the growing pressure caused Canada\u2019s federal government to announce that it would ban some single-use plastics, including plastic bags, stir sticks, cutlery, and certain kinds of takeout containers. The plastics industry has challenged the ban in court.<\/p>\n\n

Canada is not alone. Bans are popping up all over the world, from Rwanda\u2019s ban of single-use plastic bags and bottles in 2008<\/a>, to Bali, Indonesia\u2019s ban of plastic bags, straws, and styrofoam in 2019<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

People around the world are ready to break free from plastic. A few years ago, they got their biggest chance.<\/p>\n\n

The Global Plastics Treaty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Something huge happened in 2022. The United Nations started negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

This could be the world\u2019s best chance to end plastic pollution for good. A strong treaty will seriously cut how much plastic is made and how much pollution it creates across its lifecycle.<\/p>\n\n

The treaty is still being negotiated. But the fact that it\u2019s even on the table? That\u2019s thanks to years of public pressure, grassroots activism, and everyday people refusing to stay silent.<\/p>\n\n

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Thousands of people took to the streets in Busan, South Korea, in 2024. They were demanding meaningful action from the world leaders attending UN talks to negotiate the Global Plastics Treaty. \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Sungwoo Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

So what can you<\/em> do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Here are a few ways you can join the movement:<\/p>\n\n