Canada to ban single-use plastics from 2021

Canada will ban single-use plastics from 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, declaring it a “global challenge” to phase out the plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging the world’s oceans. “I am very pleased to announce that as early as 2021, Canada will ban harmful, single-use plastics from coast to coast,” Trudeau said, arguing Canada has a unique chance to lead the fight against plastic pollution as the country with the world’s longest coastlines. Less than 10 percent of plastics used in Canada are currently recycled, he said. Single-use items represent about 70 percent of the plastic waste littering the marine environment. Straws, plastic bags, cutlery, plates and stir sticks would be among the items banned, a government statement said.