URGE CANADA TO STOP PLASTIC POLLUTION

Global leaders are meeting in Ottawa, Ontario from April 23-29, 2024, to negotiate a global plastic treaty (INC-4). As the host country, Canada has an opportunity to demonstrate global leadership by implementing strong action to reduce plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is the second biggest threat to the environment after climate change.

Canada produces over 4 million tonnes of plastic waste annually – half of that is single-use plastic. Only 8 per cent of our plastic waste is recycled and the rest ends up in landfills, incinerators or the environment, including the ocean. There it lasts for centuries, injuring and killing animals like seabirds, whales and sea turtles, and leaching into the environment, threatening the health of all living things, including humans. Cancer, infertility, inflammation and respiratory diseases in humans are being linked to plastic and chemical plastic additives found in our blood and organs.

Canada must stop plastic at the source, keeping it out of the oceans, incinerators and landfill, and prioritizing refillable and reusable alternatives to harmful single-use plastics.

We can protect the ocean and ourselves from plastic pollution. Sign the petition and tell the Canadian government to:

Phase out unnecessary single-use plastics.
Ban non-recyclable plastic packaging.
Ban burning plastic waste as a form of recycling.
Prioritize refillable and reusable packaging solutions.
Mandate full transparency through the lifecycle of plastics.

JOIN US AND TELL THE GOVERNMENT THAT CANADIANS WANT #ZEROPLASTICWASTE.

Mr.

Justin

Trudeau

Government of Canada

Minister

Steven

Guilbeault

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Steven Guilbeault,

I support the federal government’s commitment to achieve zero plastic waste in Canada by 2030. The recent single-use plastic ban was a good step toward this goal, but there is still much work to be done. Canada now has the opportunity to demonstrate global leadership at INC-4 negotiations for global plastic treaty.

I am concerned that further efforts to reduce plastic pollution will be focused on expanding recycling to include energy from waste,” “chemical recycling” or “advanced recycling” and other forms of plastic incineration, all of which are flawed and failing systems that don’t reduce plastic pollution.

Burning plastic waste releases harmful cancer-causing emissions into the air, water and soil. This process is sometimes called “advanced recycling,” but it is essentially pollution and cannot be considered an acceptable form of recycling.

Canada produces nearly 2.4 million tonnes of single-use plastic packaging waste annually. We need strong action and upstream solutions to stop plastic right at the source. Refillable and reusable packaging alternatives are the only long-term solution to achieving zero plastic waste. National refill and reuse systems operate in more than 40 regions globally and Canada is falling behind.

More than 90 per cent of Canadians support action to reduce and eliminate single-use plastics as much as possible. Canada not only has the opportunity to enact change domestically but also to champion  ambitious, upstream-focused solutions at the UN global plastic treaty negotiation, making impact on an international scale. That is why I am standing with Oceana Canada and asking you to align with public sentiment and take the following actions to reduce plastic pollution:

-	Phase out unnecessary single-use plastics.
-   Ban non-recyclable plastic packaging.
-   Legally exclude plastic incineration (burning) as a form of recycling.
-   Invest in refillable and reusable packaging solutions.
-   Mandate full transparency through the lifecycle of plastics, from production and distribution to disposal.
-   Reign in plastic packaging in top polluting sectors like grocery stores, beverage bottlers, hospitality, and e-commerce.

By implementing these actions, you can position Canada as a global leader and demonstrate that it is possible to meaningfully reduce plastic pollution and protect our oceans.

Sincerely, 
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