Publishing Date
The provincial government is seeking feedback on a proposed BC Plastics Action Plan. Interested parties can review the policy discussion paper and fill out the online survey by September 18, 2019. Formal submissions will also be accepted.
The plan proposes action in four areas to reduce plastic pollution and use less plastic overall:
- Bans on single-use packaging: determining which types of plastic packaging to phase out altogether, as well as any necessary exemptions, such as those for health, safety and accessibility, to keep products available for the people who need them
- Dramatically reduce single-use plastics in landfills and waterways: requiring producers to take responsibility for more plastic products, ensuring more single-use items like sandwich bags, straws and cutlery get recycled
- Plastic bottle and beverage container returns: expanding the deposit-refund system to cover all beverage containers - including milk and milk-substitutes - with a 10-cent refundable deposit, keeping millions more containers out of landfills and waterways
- Reducing plastic waste overall: supporting effective ways to prevent plastic waste in the first place and making sure recycled plastic is reused effectively