On December 28, 2021. Canada has proposed the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations to prohibit the following plastic items with conditions. However, the manufacture, import, and sale for the purposes of export would not be subject to the prohibition:

1. SUP checkout bags (shopping bags)
2. SUP cutlery
3. SUP foodservice ware made from or containing problematic plastics, include:
1. polystyrene foam, including expanded and extruded polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride
2. the additive “carbon black”
3. oxo-degradable plastics
4. SUP ring carriers (with shape of deformable container surrounding bands for carrying beverage containers)
5. SUP stir sticks
6. SUP straws

The following items are considered as SUP only if they meet the criteria, and the criteria must be conducted by a laboratory accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 by an accrediting body that is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Alternatively, certification can be provided by a lab accredited under the Quebec Environmental Quality Act.:

Checkout bag:

• will break or tear if used to carry 10 kg over 53 m 100 times;
• will break or tear if washed in a washing machine in a wash cycle recommended by the manufacturer for washing cotton or linen; or
• made from plastic film

Cutlery or straw:

• changes shape when submerged in water maintained at a temperature of between 82 °C and 86 °C for 15 minutes

Record Keeping:
Any person that manufactures or imports any of the six categories of SUPs for export must keep records providing written evidence that the SUP has been or will be exported. Records and supporting documents must be kept for at least five years after they are made.

Exceptions for plastic straws:

1. the manufacture and import of flexible plastic straws that are sold or offered for sale in packages of multiple straws, where a “flexible” plastic straw has a corrugated section that allows the straw to bend and maintain its position at various angles;
2. the sale of flexible plastic straws to hospitals, medical facilities, long-term care facilities, and other care institutions, including the offering of SUP flexible straws to patients or residents of any of these institutions; and
3. the sale of packages of 20 or more flexible plastic straws in retail stores, on the condition that the straws are not kept on public display (though businesses may advertise that straws are available for purchase) and are provided only if requested by the customer (who can be any individual).

The proposed Regulations would come into force one year after their registration, with the exception of prohibitions on sale for checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from problematic plastics, ring carriers, and stir sticks, which would come into force two years after registration.

Draft Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations_EN_FR_Dec21.pdf

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