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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

#51

Post by nickserv »

ahjushi wrote: post #11
nickserv wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If cost is an issue, they should be provided by the health care system for those that need them.

But from the other answers it looks like it's more of a problem that they're stainless per se (hard material, need to be washed and carried).

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

#52

Post by pesfandiar »

davidy123 wrote: post #13

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,…

There's a federal election in Canada in October, and based on polls, the governing party is losing some votes to the Green Party. This could be more directly explained by that, but I agree that it's certainly a positive side effect regardless.

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

#53

Post by mmartinson »

sunkenvicar wrote: post #46

For decades I have meticulously washed and sorted my blue bin recyclables. Now they are banning plastics because people on the other side of the world treat their rivers as garbage dumps. I don’t litter. Don’t punish me. I see this as a cynical re-election strategy. The election is in four months and the polls are not looking good for Trudeau. Awash in scandal and forseeing a strong Conservative turnout, he’s trying…

The problem is, it seems like much of the careful recycling didn't really work. It was never a circular system, just one in which a couple extra uses could be rinsed out due to some extra shipping capacity on container ships making it cheap to get it overseas.

How would it be for you if instead of a ban, a heavy disposal fee was added at the time of purchase to fund extensive waste sorting and recycling locally? How much is single use convenience worth to you? $1 per plastic fork?

It may be an awkward vote grab, but it's an glaring problem nonetheless.

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

#55

Post by thatfrenchguy »

sampo wrote: post #45
uhhhhhhh wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They still have tons of it to dispose of, and still have lower regulations/controls on how it gets disposed of. And now there is a backlog of recycling plastics in north america that is increasingly likely to get thrown in landfills, some of that may make it to waterways.

Past 10 years, Europe is increasing burning waste for generating electricity, and heat for district heating. Especially Sweden is burning 50% of the waste they generate. Waste plastic makes pretty good fuel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incineration#Incineration_in_E...

And emits CO2. No more plastic, less CO2 from production and from the waste. And it’s clearly our major crisis of the century.

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

#56

Post by ZeroGravitas »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #33
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd prefer to hear about things on a per capita level. What other stats do we hear about per river?

You either are or aren't dumping waste into moving bodies of water. Whether you're efficient about it ("per capita") is of little concern. Use economic incentives to penalize countries that allow dumping into their rivers. The first world is no longer able to export their "recyclables" to Asia, and as such, are landfilling/incinerating it. It's time for Asia to clean up its act (regardless of how poor of a country yo…

Okay, lets fine them $1000 per river.

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

#57

Post by toomuchtodo »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #56
toomuchtodo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You either are or aren't dumping waste into moving bodies of water. Whether you're efficient about it ("per capita") is of little concern. Use economic incentives to penalize countries that allow dumping into their rivers. The first world is no longer able to export their "recyclables" to Asia, and as such, are landfilling/incinerating it. It's time for Asia to clean up its act (regardless of how poor of a country yo…

Okay, lets fine them $1000 per river.

I was thinking tariffs and visa quota reductions. No further first world dollars or access until mitigated.

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

#58

Post by Robotbeat »

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'll stab you in the throat.

A real concern for children, and undoubtedly also for some disabled folk: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2016/starbucks-to-recall-stainl...

Just use biodegradable plastic straws.

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

#59

Post by influx »

asark wrote: post #47
baron816 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My theory (no evidence) is that the whole recycling movement has been completely counter productive since most of that material has been shipping abroad to countries that are poorly regulated. Had we just stuffed it into landfill (we have no shortage of space to take care of it, despite what the media says), we would be fine.

On the landfill topic, I found this Slate Star Codex post very interesting: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/01/01/what-happened-to-90s-e... I'd been idly wondering about the topic for years—specifically, WTF happened to all those environmental things schools & kids' nature magazines & cartoons had all the students worked up about back in the 90s? Are they fine now? Did it all go poorly so they gave up? You know, save…

Likewise peak oil and global cooling.

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

#60

Post by JeffreyKaine »

gnicholas wrote: post #34
petschge wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not quite that simple to absolve Canada (and Europe and the US) from their responsibility for this problem. Quite a bit of the plastic that ends up in those rivers far away was exported "for recycling" to the countries where it gets miss-handled and ends up in the landscape.

Sure, everyone needs to do their part. But people hear about the pacific garbage patch, and they might think that laws like this will materially affect phenomena like this. But it's possible (I'm not an expert) that a law like this would have very little impact because the vast majority of the trash comes from different regions.

I find it's best to look at laws like this as social trends. Look at the way that same sex marriage or legal marijuana spreads through the united states. One or two progressive states adopt the policy, it gains steam, and soon it's the new norm nationwide.

I like to think that the same thing can happen on a global scale.

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