Earth Day Stimulates Action on Plastic Menace
People in British Columbia have been taking several steps to mitigate the plastic menace, and those initiatives can be strengthened as the province looks forward to regulating single-use plastic products. The new regulation will complement the existing sustainable initiatives of the Canadian province.
The proposed regulations ask for people's feedback to strengthen B.C.'s efforts to increase plastic reuse and recycling and ban specific products that can harm habitats, waterways, and wildlife that rely on a healthy environment.
George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said: "I can think of no better day than Earth Day to take the next step in tackling plastic pollution to continue restoring the health of our environment. The CleanBC Plastics Action Plan has already removed hundreds of tonnes of plastic garbage from B.C.’s wild spaces and shorelines. This next step can take us much further and prevent needless plastic waste from reaching our landfills.”
The suggested changes address B.C's most troubling single-use items and assist in its transition to a circular economy strategy, in which no waste is produced.
The CleanBC Plastics Action Plan will get an extra $10 million in Budget 2022 to fund more ideas from people in British Columbia about how to cut down on plastic use and better use the recycled plastic in everyday life.
In 2019, the Province launched the CleanBC Action Plan. The local governments across B.C. have taken initiatives to remove plastic pollution from their towns and green places. Seventeen muncipalities have implemented regulations prohibiting the use of single-use plastics.
Lisa Helps, mayor of Victoria, said: "Today, the Province has taken a necessary step forward on our pathway to a circular economy. This announcement comes on the heels of Victoria's unanimous decision to shift our community to the everyday use of reusable cups and containers. Safeguarding our natural environment requires action at every level of government, and we are committed to working alongside the Province in reducing waste.”
The Preventing Single-Use and Plastic Waste Intentions Paper lays out the proposed provincial standards helping people and the government work together to reduce waste. These standards will help build on efforts made by both local and federal governments.
