On Monday, July 15, 2024, the Province enacted new plastic waste regulations. These regulations aim to limit the amount of plastic waste entering landfills and reduce the environmental impact of microplastics through additional prohibitions on single-use plastics.
Under the regulations, businesses across the province will be prohibited from using or selling plastic shopping bags, plastic and styrofoam takeout containers, and other single-use items made of oxo-degradable plastics – plastics that fragment into smaller and smaller microplastics.
The UBCM membership has consistently supported province-wide single-use plastic regulation and called for greater consistency in the regulation of plastic waste across Canada (Resolutions 2022-EB52, 2019-B42, and 2018-B126). These regulations build on those enacted in December 2022, which banned the use of single-use plastic cutlery and straws, with a limited exemption for those who required them for accessibility reasons. In line with its CleanBC Plastics Action Plan, the Province intends to add polyvinyl chloride film wrap (cling wrap), and foam containers for raw meat to the list of banned single-use items by 2028 and 2030, respectively. As with the roll-out of previous regulations, the announcement of forthcoming prohibition of single-use items is intended to allow businesses time to adapt.