Twelve environmental organizations are demanding regulatory action on plastic waste

Twelve leading ocean conservation groups have banded together to request that Canada’s environment and health ministers take immediate regulatory action to reduce plastic waste and pollution. Drawing on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act of 1999, the organizations are calling on the government of Canada to update the legislation’s list of toxic substances. They are asking that any plastic that is generated as waste, or discharged from the use or disposal of products and packaging, be added to the list. That action would allow the federal government to pass a new set of laws. Under the new designation of plastic products, Ottawa could legislate that companies creating products containing plastics or using plastic packaging would be obliged to recycle those materials. In addition, it could determine that plastics could not be exported to developing countries, require all plastic to be recycled, and ban single-use plastics. The 12 ocean conservation groups include high-profile organizations like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Sea Legacy, the Ocean Legacy Foundation, and the Coastal Restoration Society. The announcement comes on the heels of evidence that plastics are not just poisoning ocean life, but also human bodies. Yesterday, a study from the University of Victoria hit headlines […]

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