e-4067 (Environment)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• Current scientific evidence indicates that macroplastic pollution poses an ecological hazard, including physical harm, to some animals and their habitat;
• Action is needed to restrict or eliminate single-use plastics that pose a threat of harm to the environment;
• Certified compostable checkout bags have been proven by accredited laboratories (such as Biodegradable Products Institute - BPI) to decompose to non-toxic biomass within 84 days or less;
• Certified compostable checkout bags have been proven to disappear within 3 months within marine environments by The School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth;
• Certified compostable checkout bags are an alternative that provides one of the lowest environmental impacts according to an LCA performed in 2018 by The Danish Environmental Protection Agency;
• The ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada) has identified heavier multiple-use carrier bags such as composite and cotton bags (fabric) as the checkout bag of choice despite them obtaining the highest negative environmental impacts across all impact categories;
• Certified compostable checkout bags also function as a food scraps collection device to support organic waste diversion from landfills to compost facilities, resulting in the reduction of landfill waste and methane emissions; and
• Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations: SOR/2022-138, Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 13, indicates this regulation will treat single-use items made from non-conventional plastics in the same manner as their conventional plastic counterparts.