MONTREAL, Canada -- On Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that it is joining the movement of a greener and cleaner world by putting a stop to single-use plastics in the country. The announcement of the ban was made next to the picturesque lake at the Gault Nature Reserve, outside of Montreal. He further said that he wanted his children to be able to swim in the lake or play on the beach without their moment interrupted by a fish or bird killed by pollution.
"People have had enough of having to walk in the park or the beach and see plastics lying around," he said. "As parents, we are living at this point where we have to look at a patch of sand on the beach that does not have plastic straws or bottles lying around. As little as it may seem, it is a problem that we all need to address."
According to the report released by the World Economic Forum, an estimated 90% of all the single-use plastic end up in the ocean because they have been dumped in ten of the major rivers in the world. At the moment, there are about 50 million tons of plastic in the world's oceans and that continues to grow by the moment. Environmentalists have warned that it takes centuries for a plastic bag to degrade if it ever degrades at all. Sometimes, they turn into microplastics that kill more fish and other underwater creatures.
This move by Canada came as countries and cities from all over the world seek to phase out the single-use plastics, particularly plastic straws, cups, and plastic bags.
In March, New York State has announced its ban on most single-use plastics similar to what was banned in Hawaii and California. Mr. Trudeau noted that each year, the country throws away 8 billion worth of plastic materials and that includes more than 34 million plastic bags. This is according to the report made by the Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Mr. Trudeau also said that if Canada considered reusing of plastics and recycling materials, not only will they be able to help reduce the amount of garbage that pollutes the world, but they could also create jobs and more sustainable communities. The government also said that scientific analysis is to be made before a total ban of plastic use is to be put in place. This is to determine which type of plastics should be banned by 2021.
However, Mr. Trudeau said that Canada might be looking into the example set by the European Union, which banned 10 single-use plastics that mostly end up in the ocean, including plastic cutlery, cotton swab sticks and plastic bags. The bloc introduced this possible ban for single-use plastics after research conducted showed that 80% of the litter in the marine environment is due to plastic use.
