URGE CANADA TO STOP PLASTIC POLLUTION

Over 170 countries are gathering in Busan, South Korea, from November 25 to December 1, 2024, to finalize a global plastic treaty – while Canada is falling behind on action against plastic pollution.

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 can last for centuries, injuring and killing animals like seabirds, whales and sea turtles, and leaching microplastics and plastic chemicals. This threatens the health of all living things, including humans. Plastic has been found in our blood and every major organ in the body, and chemicals in plastics have been linked to cancer, infertility, inflammation and respiratory diseases

Canada must stand up, be a global leader and stop plastic pollution at the source, keeping it out of the oceans, incinerators and landfill. The government must prioritize refillable and reusable alternatives over harmful single-use plastics.

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

Ban harmful plastic chemicals from plastic products.
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.

JOIN US AND TELL THE GOVERNMENT THAT CANADIANS WANT TO #STOPPLASTICPOLLUTION.

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

Mr.

Justin

Trudeau

Government of Canada

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Steven Guilbeault and Minister Mark Holland,

I support the federal government’s commitment to achieve zero plastic waste in Canada by 2030, as well as the strong stance at the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to end plastic pollution. The recent, domestic single-use plastic ban in Canada was a step toward this goal, but there is still much work to be done.

Right now, Canada has the opportunity to enact change domestically to stop plastic pollution, and to champion ambitious, upstream-focused solutions at the UN INC negotiations and intersessional work, 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:

-	Ban the intentional and non-intentional addition of harmful plastic chemicals to everyday plastic products, using the precautionary principle
-   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.
-   Reign in plastic packaging in top polluting sectors like grocery stores, beverage bottlers, hospitality, and e-commerce.

Plastics have been found in the deepest depths of the ocean, in the stomachs of whales, and in every major organ of the human body. To address this crisis, Canada needs to not only tackle the generation of plastic waste itself, but also the formulation of plastics. New peer-reviewed studies have found that plastic pollution is putting human health at risk, with plastic chemicals, including bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, dyes, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) now found in human blood and major organs. These chemicals have links to cancers, hormone disruption, infertility, breast milk contamination, inflammation and respiratory illness. Health Canada must take a precautionary approach under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and ban these known harmful chemicals to protect Canadians.

Research has also found that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic crisis. Canada produces nearly 2.4 million tonnes of single-use plastic packaging waste every year. To stop single-use plastic at the source, we need strong action and upstream solutions. The banning and phasing out of unnecessary single-use plastics must continue to limit the amount of plastic waste produced in Canada. Refillable and reusable packaging alternatives are the only long-term solutions to achieving zero plastic waste.

I am also concerned that further recycling efforts to reduce plastic pollution will be focused on expanding recycling to include energy from waste, “chemical recycling” or “advanced recycling,” biofuel generation 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.

There are clear solutions to the plastic crisis, but tackling this problem will require strong leadership and action from your government and respective ministries. The vast majority of Canadians support government action to end plastic pollution, and I am one of them. Polling by Abacus data found that 82% of Canadians, support the government’s existing ban on single-use plastics, regardless of voting preference. Additionally, 82% of Canadians are concerned about the growing impact of microplastics and plastic chemicals on human health.

With decisive action you can position Canada as a global leader in tackling plastic pollution.

Sincerely, 
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Minister

Steven

Guilbeault

Environment and Climate Change Canada