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By the end of 2021, the feds plan to ban a lot of the more common single-use plastic products such as bags, straws and cutlery:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/single-use-plastics-1.5753327?cmp=rss
Overall, I think it's a good thing to be aware of how we are using plastics, the risks (or benefits) in terms of health and practicality, and what the wider repercussions might be for the environment. But an outright ban? I'm not so sure.
I can certainly see the point of stores charging a fee for plastic bags. And frankly, I think the fee should be higher and the plastic bag more durable. How many times have you had a plastic bag break on you and your groceries splattered across the parking lot? What are the total financial and opportunity costs of that, especially in pandemic times when you think of the hours lining up outside the grocery store, the replacement cost for the lost groceries, the depletion of your personal energy morale and dignity, and so forth?
Then there are those plastic bags in the produce section (which so far they don't charge for), which I struggle endlessly on my own (since these days it's one shopper to a household) to pry open with arthritic fingers and sometimes give up on in disgust, resulting in still more waste!
Then there's the health care industry. Disposable needles, tissues, masks and other supplies may be more hygienic and eliminate time and energy (human or otherwise) spent on sterilizing them for re-use, but they mean more stuff in the landfill. Does anyone have a clear and disinterested picture of when it's better to follow the environmental 3 R's vs. when we should go with the one-time use?
If we're going to eliminate single-use plastics, we need viable alternatives to be readily available. I'd love to see us go back to the days of paper bags in grocery stores and growlers or other bottles more readily available in beer and liquor stores. We do still use waxed paper around our place and we reuse plastic wrap and bags as much as possible. And of course, some plastic or plastic-like baggies are compostable too.
Not everyone agrees on the environmental footprint of paper as opposed to plastic though. I found this briefing note from 2011 quite interesting:
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2011/environment/3611.pdf
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/single-use-plastics-1.5753327?cmp=rss
Overall, I think it's a good thing to be aware of how we are using plastics, the risks (or benefits) in terms of health and practicality, and what the wider repercussions might be for the environment. But an outright ban? I'm not so sure.
I can certainly see the point of stores charging a fee for plastic bags. And frankly, I think the fee should be higher and the plastic bag more durable. How many times have you had a plastic bag break on you and your groceries splattered across the parking lot? What are the total financial and opportunity costs of that, especially in pandemic times when you think of the hours lining up outside the grocery store, the replacement cost for the lost groceries, the depletion of your personal energy morale and dignity, and so forth?
Then there are those plastic bags in the produce section (which so far they don't charge for), which I struggle endlessly on my own (since these days it's one shopper to a household) to pry open with arthritic fingers and sometimes give up on in disgust, resulting in still more waste!
Then there's the health care industry. Disposable needles, tissues, masks and other supplies may be more hygienic and eliminate time and energy (human or otherwise) spent on sterilizing them for re-use, but they mean more stuff in the landfill. Does anyone have a clear and disinterested picture of when it's better to follow the environmental 3 R's vs. when we should go with the one-time use?
If we're going to eliminate single-use plastics, we need viable alternatives to be readily available. I'd love to see us go back to the days of paper bags in grocery stores and growlers or other bottles more readily available in beer and liquor stores. We do still use waxed paper around our place and we reuse plastic wrap and bags as much as possible. And of course, some plastic or plastic-like baggies are compostable too.
Not everyone agrees on the environmental footprint of paper as opposed to plastic though. I found this briefing note from 2011 quite interesting:
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2011/environment/3611.pdf
