Whereas British Columbias coastal communities rely on healthy waterways and healthy marine ecosystems for economic, social and ecological well-being and where microplastic debris on land and in both marine and freshwater systems has become an emerging threat creating a growing need to understand the impacts of microplastics; And whereas a number of organisms, both vertebrates and invertebrates have been found to ingest microplastics and become exposed to contaminants absorbed to the plastic which may then transport concentrated contaminants to other organisms including people; And whereas these microplastic fibers are small enough to pass through wastewater treatment plants and enter the ocean or be distributed on to land: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of British Columbia set standards for acceptable limits of microplastics being released into marine and freshwater environments or onto land as well as a standard methodology for testing and reporting and implementation of a governing body.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy regulates wastewater discharges through the Municipal Wastewater Regulation MWR. The MWR is a performance-based regulation that mandates secondary treatment but does not endorse specific technologies for screening or treatment required to achieve this standard. Research on the topic of microplastics is growing; for example a recent study conducted in conjunction with Metro Vancouver Regional District and Oceanwise has measured that secondary treatment removes 99 of microplastics Gies et al, 2018. Adding additional treatment after secondary treatment is likely cost prohibitive to many communities in BC In addition, there is currently no approved international method for testing of microplastics in municipal effluent or solids, which would be a necessary first step before any standard could be added into provincial regulation. Instead of adding additional filtration after secondary treatment, preventing microplastics from reaching the wastewater treatment facility is an approach currently being taken by governments, such as the Federal Governments ban on microbeads through the Microbeads in Toiletries Regulation and Metro Vancouver Regional Districts work with Oceanwise mentioned above. The Ministry supports a prevention first approach and will continue to consider appropriate policy approaches to address plastic pollution as part of the CleanBC Plastics Action Plan.