The end of next year will be the end of the road for plastic straws, stir sticks, carry-out bags, cutlery, dishes and takeout containers and six-pack rings for cans and bottles. GETTY IMAGES
The head of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) says Ottawa’s decision to ban six single-use plastic items could impact Alberta’s ability to attract investment — a key part of the province’s economic recovery plan.
On Wednesday, the federal government announced plastic straws, stir sticks, carry-out bags, cutlery, Styrofoam dishes and takeout containers and six-pack rings for cans and bottles will be banned by the end of 2021 if new regulatory changes are approved as planned.
The announcement came the day after the Alberta government unveiled its natural gas strategy, which includes seeking investment in petrochemicals — used to make plastic — and making the province “the western North America centre of excellence for plastics recycling by 2030.”
Bob Masterson, president and CEO of the CIAC, said Alberta is doing all the right things to get the global industry to invest in the province but the federal decision doesn’t help build Alberta’s case.
“I can tell you we’ve heard from global companies and the premier of Alberta has heard from global companies, that this will make them think carefully about their plans, any plans, they might have to invest Alberta. So it’s a pretty real concern,” Masterson said Wednesday.
The province has said that attracting investment will be key to recovering from the economic crisis born from the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price crash, which has put it on track for a deficit of $24.2 billion.
Disposable cutlery for sale at a Real Canadian Superstore in Calgary are seen on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Canada is banning plastic bags, straws, cutlery and other single-use items by the end of 2021. Gavin Young/Postmedia
At Calgary-based resin manufacturer Nova Chemicals Corp., director of sustainability Sarah Marshall said the ban will have a very small impact on its business and while the company is supportive of the federal government’s overall plan for zero plastic waste, it believes there are better ways to achieve that.
“Those are the big opportunities where I think when you look at that from an investment perspective, there’s still lots of strengths and opportunity in petrochemicals,” she said.
At a press conference Wednesday, Alberta Energy Minster Sonya Savage accused the federal government of “proceeding in a direction that suits their agenda and their purpose.”
She said part of Alberta’s economic recovery plan is to bring in more petrochemical activity, including the manufacturing of plastics.
“So we would just say that is Alberta’s jurisdiction. It’s a key part of our economic recovery strategy,” she said.
“So we’ll be following that announcement from the federal government and each and every announcement to ensure that it doesn’t infringe on our constitutional jurisdiction and to ensure that it doesn’t infringe on our ability to recover our economy and doesn’t infringe on our ability to diversify our economy.”
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said he thinks Alberta’s plan for recycling dovetails nicely with Ottawa’s plastics plan, which he stressed is not zero plastics, but rather zero-plastic waste.
He stressed repeatedly bans are only going to be applied to a small number of products which are really hard to recycle.
“Plastics are very useful and we all use them,” he said. “We just need to make sure that we’re not throwing them in the landfill or dumping them in the ocean. We need to ensure that they stay in the economy and that is exactly what this plan is aiming to do.”
To allow for the ban, the federal government is listing plastics as toxic under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).
Masterson said the association is concerned about the message that label would send but added Wilkinson has expressed willingness to consider renaming it.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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