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Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

nytimes.com

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Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#11

Post by ahjushi »

nickserv wrote: post #8
Tiktaalik wrote: post #6

Not mentioned in this article but worth noting that the City of Vancouver was interested in pursuing a single use plastics ban taking effect this summer in 2019, but backed away when disability rights activists protested that plastic straws are very important for people with mobility challenges, and they considered the non-plastic alternative straws available to be poor and not viable options.

What's wrong with carrying your own stainless steel straw? I mean if you know you need one it makes sense to me to have your own. Not being snarky, just curious.

It's tough because sometimes these things can feel like a "tax", i.e. the general public does not need this item so they don't purchase it, but I now have to since there are no longer any alternatives. Seems like perhaps an inconsequential amount for a straw, but it's just another cost most people don't need to consider and shoulder (mobility tools like wheelchairs, maybe specific medicines, etc.). It all adds up.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#12

Post by SolaceQuantum »

SquareWheel wrote: post #9
Tiktaalik wrote: post #6

Not mentioned in this article but worth noting that the City of Vancouver was interested in pursuing a single use plastics ban taking effect this summer in 2019, but backed away when disability rights activists protested that plastic straws are very important for people with mobility challenges, and they considered the non-plastic alternative straws available to be poor and not viable options.

I don't know if this is insensitive of me to ask, but why don't they bring their own straws? I'm sure they would be happier with a premium reusable straw than a cheap single-use one anyway. A good straw could be reusable, sturdy, and even telescopic. Is there difficulties involved in bringing along accessibility tools like straws that I'm missing? Or is this just a case of the nirvana fallacy?

A few immediate logistical difficulties, from an able-bodied person:

1) If you have a cognitive disability, remembering to bring a straw may be difficult.

2) If you have a mobility disability, you may struggle to wash the straw in a suitably disinfected manner after use.

3) How do you reuse the straw on the go?

4) This(bringing your own straw) is another cost added onto an already economically overburdened populace.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#13

Post by davidy123 »

While I fully support this ban, even if it's not that much more than a gesture in the larger issue of carbon and the environment, I think it's largely related to the very public and embarrassing row over badly sorted garbage sent to the Philippines. https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canadian-garbage-from-phi...

That incident is however an indication of how difficult it is to properly dispose of single-use plastics, and this will help solve that problem.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#14

Post by davidy123 »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #12
SquareWheel wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if this is insensitive of me to ask, but why don't they bring their own straws? I'm sure they would be happier with a premium reusable straw than a cheap single-use one anyway. A good straw could be reusable, sturdy, and even telescopic. Is there difficulties involved in bringing along accessibility tools like straws that I'm missing? Or is this just a case of the nirvana fallacy?

A few immediate logistical difficulties, from an able-bodied person: 1) If you have a cognitive disability, remembering to bring a straw may be difficult. 2) If you have a mobility disability, you may struggle to wash the straw in a suitably disinfected manner after use. 3) How do you reuse the straw on the go? 4) This(bringing your own straw) is another cost added onto an already economically overburdened populace.

Restaurants already have requirements around those with special needs (including those with babies), requiring them to have a few washable stainless steel straws on hand is not much to ask. Granted, there may be slip-ups, those should be reported.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#15

Post by Tiktaalik »

nickserv wrote: post #8
Tiktaalik wrote: post #6

Not mentioned in this article but worth noting that the City of Vancouver was interested in pursuing a single use plastics ban taking effect this summer in 2019, but backed away when disability rights activists protested that plastic straws are very important for people with mobility challenges, and they considered the non-plastic alternative straws available to be poor and not viable options.

What's wrong with carrying your own stainless steel straw? I mean if you know you need one it makes sense to me to have your own. Not being snarky, just curious.

I don't know, but I know from articles in the local paper that the existing alternatives weren't considered ideal.

I'd venture that if your dexterity is poor enough that you require a straw to drink instead of being able to drink strawless, a lot of the other tasks associated with carrying around one's own metal straw (ie. taking it out of a bag, putting it in a drink, washing it after) may also be overly challenging.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#16

Post by gnicholas »

> The World Economic Forum estimates that 90 percent of the plastic ending up in the oceans comes from 10 major rivers, and that currently there are 50 million tons of plastic in the world’s oceans."

from the WEF: researchers were able to estimate that just 10 river systems carry 90% of the plastic that ends up in the ocean. Eight of them are in Asia: the Yangtze; Indus; Yellow; Hai He; Ganges; Pearl; Amur; Mekong; and two in Africa – the Nile and the Niger. [1]

It seems odd to mention that nearly all of the plastic waste comes from 10 major rivers and then not to name them (or mention that all of them are a world away from Canada).

1: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluti...

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#17

Post by barking »

Canada is not where the problem is at, so to speak

By analyzing the waste found in the rivers and surrounding landscape, researchers were able to estimate that just 10 river systems carry 90% of the plastic that ends up in the ocean.

Eight of them are in Asia: the Yangtze; Indus; Yellow; Hai He; Ganges; Pearl; Amur; Mekong; and two in Africa – the Nile and the Niger.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluti...

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#18

Post by joemaller1 »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #5

This sort of policy is somewhat of a distraction from the wildly more important goal of reducing CO2 emissions. A single use plastics ban is fine if it is a minor part of a more comprehensive policy that is focused on CO2 emissions, but by itself, eh, this is not really our most pressing issue in the near term is it? (of course we should reduce single use plastics eventually) This government has been very uneven on c…

We're going to suffocate under a blanket of plastic long before the effects of CO2 kills us. Single-use plastics are essentially a slow-motion, global oil spill.

The goal of these bans is to force use of better materials. The huge majority of plastic pollution comes from the economic fringes in Asia, but demanding goods come in better packaging to be sold in large western markets will hopefully tip the financial scales enough to force manufacturers' hands resulting in less plastic waste globally. I can get behind that.

Re: Canada Plans to Ban Single-Use Plastics, Joining Growing Global Movement

#20

Post by nickelcitymario »

Kluny wrote: post #7
Tiktaalik wrote: post #5

This sort of policy is somewhat of a distraction from the wildly more important goal of reducing CO2 emissions. A single use plastics ban is fine if it is a minor part of a more comprehensive policy that is focused on CO2 emissions, but by itself, eh, this is not really our most pressing issue in the near term is it? (of course we should reduce single use plastics eventually) This government has been very uneven on c…

> merely part of an attempt to boost their environmentalist cred and blunt the impact rival environmentalist parties while in actuality doing the absolute minimum Yeah, it fully is. The major parties in Canada are slowly, and much too late, getting the message that the environment is the biggest election issue this year. They haven't been taking it seriously at all til now, hence this kind of bandwagon jumping. We're…

> the environment is the biggest election issue this year

Is it? It should be, but I'm pretty sure the biggest election issue is always going to be the economy.

That being said, maybe the advantage is that the environment is becoming less of a partisan issue. Anecdotally, my left- and right-wing friends and family seem to be coming closer to a consensus that we need to act.

Still, it's easy to say "we need to fix the environment". My own city council voted unanimously on a resolution to slash our city's greenhouse gas production. But then when it comes to specific proposals on what that would look like, such as saying "no" to building a new convention centre or new highways, suddenly there's no political will. "Something should absolutely be done... as long as it doesn't cost us anything."

So we'll ban single use plastics (barely effective, but very popular), but we won't cut back on exploiting the Alberta oil sands, or on deforestation for that matter (both of which would have a tremendous impact, but at great economic and political cost).

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