The annual recycling rate of plastic packaging in the EU has been steadily rising each year, but is still below 50 percent. Source: Statistics Canada, EnviroStats (16-002-X). FACT: With projections estimating that plastic waste is expected to quadruple in volume by 2050, and oceans covering about 70% of earth’s surface, cleaning ocean plastic presents an almost insurmountable feat. The rest is burned to create energy, which causes emission problems, or the plastic enters the environment as litter. Canadian plastic waste exports face protests in the Philippines. 3. Its their problem, not ours.”. FACT: Unfortunately, bioplastics are still resource-intensive, rely on fossil fuels for production and are disposable, single-use items. To make matters worse, the volume of plastic waste is expected to increase four times by 2050. As one of the wealthiest nations with a relatively small population, this is huge problem made worse by the fact that we only recycle about 9% of our plastics waste. A great way to get involved in protecting #oceans: Join Oceana Canada! Oceana Canada is advocating for plastic-free oceans and we need your support to be successful. Commissioned by Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in August 2013 to provide a snapshot of the State of Waste Management in Canada Waste Management in Canada – What is the Problem? We recycle, we have good waste management systems, do beach cleanups, and generally we care about the environment. To mitigate this problem, we need to stop plastics from getting into our oceans in the first place. Provided By - Video Elephant on December 04, 2020. SHARE. Additionally, Canada ships about 12 per cent of its plastic waste outside of North America to be processed for “recycling”, which far too often results in waste polluting the environment around the world rather than being properly recycled. Plastic Waste. But last week, Australia's federal and state governments came together to start planning for an eventual ban of plastic waste exports. Let’s dive into this issue and sort some of the fact from fiction. 10% of the plastic we use yearly end up in the ocean. Since the oceans do not have boundaries, plastic gets carried far and wide by ocean currents. Our oceans are facing a plastic crisis. Dr. Tam talks about the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines in real world conditions. A House of Commons Library Briefing Paper on plastic waste in the UK, including statistics on plastic waste and information on UK Government and devolved Government plans and ambitions to reduce avoidable plastic waste and examples of voluntary initiatives from the plastics industry, environmental groups and retailers. It is estimated that an additional 12 billion tonnes of plastic will be lost to disposal by 2050. In a study published in Science Advance, researchers estimate since the 1950s 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been generated around the world and only 9 per cent of those plastics have been recycled. This is why Oceana has launched a global plastics campaign. About one-third of the plastics used in Canada are for single-use or short-lived products and packaging. FACT: Many countries in Asia have become the world’s dumping ground for plastic waste. It’s time for Canada to deal with its … Canada has a poor record on waste according to a recent international ranking of OECD countries by the Conference Board of Canada (Canada is 17th out of 17)1 . Twenty percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by fugitive emissions from landfills. If you tied 6.9 billion plastic bags together end on end they would travel around the world 42.5 times. Duration: 02:07 1 hour ago. Politics News. … Canadian experts say immediate change is needed on trash regulations after waste from Canada ended up in Malaysia and the Philippines, with both countries vowing to send it back. Canadian plastic waste exports face protests in the Philippines. In 2017 the amount exported to China halved to just 48,143 mt between Q1 and Q3. This all eventually carries into larger bodies of water, making its way to the oceans. It is therefore not likely to be intentionally lost or thrown away, and we can’t say the same about single-use plastic products. Australia alone uses 6.9 billion plastic bags a year of which 3.6 billion are plastic shopping bags. In short, this report gives an insight Join us as a Wavemaker for the latest campaign updates and actions you can take. [3] If bioplastics wrongly end up in recycling facilities instead of industrial compost facilities, they can contaminate recycled plastics and reduce their value, making recycling even less effective. 4. Oceana Canada needs your support to protect the oceans and sea life. Poor plastic waste management in Canada contributes to environmental pollution and economic inefficiencies. It is also estimated that the cost of cleaning up plastic pollution in the Great Lakes area alone (U.S. and Canada) is about $468 million a year. ● According to the Canadian government, Canadians use almost 15 billion plastic bags every year and close to 57 million straws every day.● In Canada, more than one-third of our plastics are created for single-use products or packaging. It’s everywhere. In a study published in Science Advance, researchers estimate since the 1950s 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been generated around the world and only 9 per cent of those plastics have been recycled. The Aspirational Canada-wide Waste Reduction Goal and the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste are examples of Canada's commitment to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste sent to landfill.. “Most plastic in the ocean comes from cruise ships or fishing activity.”. All rights reserved. Every year, Canadians throw away 3 million tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which is recycled, meaning the vast majority of plastics end up in landfills and about 29,000 tonnes finds its way into our natural environment. The country deposits 86 per cent of plastic waste in landfills, and incinerates another 4 per cent, while only 9 per cent is recycled (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2019).6 The country also exports a fair amount of plastic For more information on the work we are doing visit oceana.ca/Plastics. Isn’t plastic pollution being dealt with appropriately? Listed below are some of the comments we’ve heard from people across Canada. An average environmentally conscious individual could probably recite several plastic waste statistics in any given conversation to spread awareness about the material’s dangers to the planet. TWEET. Politics. This is harming our oceans, the animals that call them home and even our health. Once in the environment, they contaminate ecosystems, kill wildlife, and leach toxic chemicals. Canada is home to about 2,400 active landfills (large and small, public and private). *Some of the data in this blog was updated at the end of 2020 to reflect new research.*. Canada is contributing to the plastic problem halfway across the world. https://bit.ly/2FboCRj, Canada’s plastic problem: Sorting fact from fiction, oin us as a Wavemaker for the latest campaign updates and actions you can take, View all references for the facts listed in this blog here, Talking sea turtles and plastic pollution with the Canadian Sea Turtle Network, Plastic Nation: Canada can be a leader in stopping the plastic disaster, Recycling alone cannot end the plastic disaster, An albatross in New Zealand died after swallowing a plastic bottle, new video shows, Oceana in Canada, the U.S. and UK calls on Amazon to follow their customers’ lead and offer plastic-free packaging choices at checkout. It is estimated that an additional 12 billion tonnes of plastic will be lost to disposal by 2050. At the moment, the city diverts 52 per cent of the waste it collects into recycling (compared with, say, 34 per cent for Calgary and an average of 55 per cent in many Canadian cities). It is estimated that an additional 12 billion tonnes of plastic will be lost to disposal by 2050. Plastic debris has been found floating on the sea surface, washing up on the world’s most remote coastlines, melting out of Arctic sea ice, sitting at the deepest point of the ocean floor, and in the stomachs of fish, marine mammals and seabirds. Back to Featured. Towards a Zero Plastic Waste Canada In Canada, nearly 90 per cent of plastics end up incinerated, or in our landfills, lakes, parks and oceans. While we do agree that ghost gear is a significant problem affecting our oceans, fishing gear is created with the intention of long-term use and can be very expensive. The majority of plastic waste collected was from plastic packaging. It doesn’t make good sense to spend millions of dollars every year on a persistent problem, without addressing its root cause. FACT: About 86 per cent of Canada’s plastic waste ends up in landfill, while a meager nine per cent is recycled. All rights reserved. The CBC's Even Dyer reports. This represents up to $8 billion per year in lost value and wastes valuable resources and energy. News. Ensuring our oceans are clean, healthy and plastic-free is the responsibility of everyone in Canada, including companies, governments and consumers, and also requires concerted action from all sectors around the world. We need to be doing more to stop the oceans from drowning in plastics. Canadians expect the Government to take action to protect the environment and to reduce plastic pollution across the country. The Canadian plastics economy is mostly linear, with an estimated nine percent of plastic waste recycled, four percent incinerated with energy recovery, 86 percent landfilled, and one percent leaked into the environment in 2016 (Figure 1). FACT: Approximately 80 per cent of plastic that ends up in the ocean comes from land-based sources. Table 14 Residential and non-residential materials diverted, by type of material ... Business sector waste management industry, by region, 2014 Table summary This table displays the results of Business sector waste management industry. EMAIL. Recycling one ton of plastic saves the equivalent of 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of gasoline. Plastic Oceans Foundation Canada is a Federal non-profit organization, and Registered Canadian Charity, organized and existing under the laws of Canada (FEDERAL INCORPORATION NO: 1000119-8 / BC INCORPORATION NO: XS0066449) CHARITY REGISTRATION NO 74084 6894 RR0001 Canadian plastic waste exports face protests in the Philippines Added 8 hours ago 02:07. Study: The impact of debris on marine life, 2015. 2. Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste Phase 2 (2020) Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste Phase 1 (2019) Industries canadian plastic waste statistics Canadians produces an incredibly high rate of plastic saves the equivalent of 1,000 to 2,000 of. 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