Plastics bans make no legal or climate sense
Many Canadians let out a sigh of relief late last year when they heard Justice Angela Furlanetto had ruled that the federal government’s listing of all plastic items as toxic was “unreasonable and unconstitutional.” Ottawa had failed to show, she found, that every single plastic substance was toxic, and in any case its classifying them […]
California’s plastic bag ban has been a failed experiment
We can now add plastic bag bans to the list of “well-meaning but failed experiments” being run in California. Two devastating pieces in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times reveal how the environmentalist fervor to rid California of thin, single-use plastic bags resulted in a 47 percent increase in plastic waste statewide. Before the ban, California produced 314 million pounds of plasticwaste. By 2022, plastic waste […]
Cut plastic waste with tax incentives for private R&D, says NGO
A consumer group has suggested tax incentives for companies and consumers as part of efforts to reduce plastic waste, especially those targeted at research and development (R&D) in the private sector. Tarmizi Anuwar, the Malaysian representative of the Washington-based Consumer Choice Centre, said that emphasis on private sector R&D could lead to the production of […]
Court Ruling On Plastic Is A Win For Consumers And The Environment
Ottawa, ON – Yesterday, a federal court ruled that Ottawa overstepped in designating all “manufactured plastic items” as toxic under CEPA, which puts Ottawa’s single-use plastics ban in question. David Clement, Toronto based North American Affairs Manager for the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), responded stating: “The court ruling is a huge win for consumers, and for […]
Une victoire pour les consommateurs après la défaite de l’interdiction du plastique de Trudeau
POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE | 17 novembre, 2023 OTTAWA, ON. – Ce jeudi, la Cour fédérale a rendu sa décision qui mettra fin au plan du gouvernement Trudeau d’interdire des articles en plastique à usage unique à la fin de 2023. La Cour est concise sur le fait que le plan était à la fois excessif […]
Banning plastic food packaging would be a second big plastics mistake
Much has been made of the federal government’s ban of single-use plastics like straws, takeout containers, grocery bags and cutlery. Though environmentalists claim it was a significant win for the environment, the evidence suggests it will be a net environmental negative in the long run. Not to mention that it will increase the hospitality sector’s costs as […]
Britain’s ban on single-use plastics is bad news for consumers and the environment
British consumers can say goodbye to the comforts of plastic cutlery, plates, and food containers. Having already banned plastic straws, cotton buds, and stirrers, England joins Scotland in outlawing the mass manufacturing and distribution of single-use plastics from October 2023 onwards. Wales is in the process of drafting similar legislation. The reasons behind the ban […]
War on Plastics Misguided
Do you feel bad when you see pictures of plastic waste in the world’s oceans? Most certainly, and any decent human being would. In fact, governments fail to do enough to stop the dumping of plastic waste into the environment and are still inefficient at holding companies to account for these ecological disasters. That said, […]
Would a single-use plastic ban be counterproductive?
A petition filed by a number of environmental organizations calls on the General Services Administration to halt the acquisition of single-use plastics across the entire federal government. According to these groups, plastic packaging harms the environment, and with the U.S government being the largest consumer of goods and services in the world (spending more than $650 billion […]
Our eco-harmful plastics ban
Rather than endorsing costly and ineffective plastic bans, we should look to innovators who are offering a third way on plastics While Canadians were busy unwrapping presents on Christmas Day, their federal government was busy releasing draft regulations for its single use plastic ban. Friday afternoons, the start of holiday weekends, Christmas: Ottawa often releases […]
More plastics bans will not impact the environment but will impact consumers
“Up to 95% of all plastic found in the world’s oceans comes from just 10 source rivers, which are all in the developing world.” Policy makers at all levels have declared effective war on plastics. Municipalities have enacted water bottle bans, provinces have sought to restrict or prohibit the sale of certain items, and the […]
MINDEROO REPORT ON PLASTIC IGNORES CONSUMER COSTS
The Minderoo foundation released a report outlining the multinational corporations they claim are responsible for producing and financing single-use plastic products globally. The report, which was internationally covered, calls for additional regulations to help curb the issue of mismanaged plastic waste. Unfortunately, their proposals largely ignore the immense consumer costs associated with increased regulatory efforts. “The Minderoo Foundation’s report on […]
