A cleaner and greener BC is on the horizon as the provincial government moves to reduce waste from single-use plastics starting today.
The government announced today retailers will no longer be able to offer plastic bags, and single-use products will no longer be sold in the province.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, more than 340,000 tonnes of plastic items were disposed of in recent years, and phasing out plastic items is part of building a more sustainable future.
“Phasing out single-use items is part of the CleanBC Plastics Action Plan to help us move away from temporary and disposable plastics to durable and reuseable products,” they say.
This is the next phase in several changes expected to be completed in July 2030 which the government says will phase out plastic shopping bags, disposable food-service accessories, oxo-degradable plastics, and food-service packaging made from polystyrene foam.
On Dec. 30, 2023, plastic utensils were banned as well as prepackaged food-serving accessories.
In 2028, the government is expected to ban PVC film wrap and two years later polystyrene foam trays will be banned.
