Canada

Canadian Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson (Jonathan Wilkinson) announced in Gatineau (part of the Capital Special Administrative Region) on October 7th local time that the federal government will ban single-use plastic products in 2021, including plastic food bags and plastic Six kinds of supplies, including straws, plastic stirring rods, six-hole plastic packaging, plastic cutlery, and plastic lunch boxes that are difficult to recycle, cannot be sold, provided or used. However, plastics used to make personal protective equipment or medical supplies will not fall within the scope of the ban.

Wilkinson said that the legislative process is expected to be completed before the end of 2021. This is one of the measures taken by the ruling Liberal Party to implement its promises for the 2019 general election. He pointed out that the increase in the use of single-use plastics during the epidemic was one of the factors the government considered when preparing the list of six items to be banned. And many of the items targeted by the ban have readily available and affordable alternatives. When the ban takes effect, businesses must provide customers with alternatives, such as reusable environmental shopping bags or paper bags.

The Canadian government is striving to achieve the "Zero Plastic Waste Plan" by 2030. The federal government and provincial and territorial governments have jointly established a "zero plastic waste strategy." The day before, Alberta, a major oil-producing province in western Canada, issued the "Natural Gas Vision and Strategy" aimed at promoting clean technology and economic diversification as an important plan for its economic recovery. Among them, it is proposed that by 2030, Alberta will become a plastic recycling center in western North America. In response to the federal government’s ban on plastics, Alberta’s Deputy Director of Natural Gas Nellie responded that the federal government should focus on building a circular economy, rather than banning disposable plastic products and marking them as toxic substances.

According to Canadian officials, Canadians discard 3 million tons of plastic waste each year, of which only 9% is recycled, and most plastic waste is landfilled. In Canada, as many as 15 billion plastic bags are used each year, and nearly 57 million plastic straws are used every day. Most of the plastic waste in the country's freshwater environment is disposable plastic products.

United Kingdom

The Secretary of the Environment of the United Kingdom George Eustice announced on October 1 that the United Kingdom will ban the use of disposable plastic straws, blenders and cotton swabs. It is illegal for companies to sell such items. The ban exempts hospitals, bars and restaurants from providing plastic straws to people with disabilities or medical needs. The cost of disposable plastic bags at 5 pence will be doubled to 10 pence, and will be expanded to all retail stores in the UK from April 2021.

According to data from the official website of the British government, the UK consumes an average of 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirring rods and 1.8 billion cotton swabs with plastic as the stem each year. Eustis said that the British government is firmly committed to solving environmental pollution caused by single-use plastics. By banning the provision of these items, it can further protect marine wildlife and move toward the realization of the "Environmental Protection Plan for the Next 25 Years". The goal of plastic waste is moving forward.

Eustis said that the UK is leading a wide range of overseas activities, including through the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance and the Commonwealth Waste Program, aimed at preventing plastic waste from being discharged into the ocean. The British government has also pledged to launch a 500 million pounds "Blue Planet Fund" to protect the ocean from plastic pollution, rising sea temperatures and overfishing.

Poland

Poland is one of the poorest countries in the European Union for plastic recycling. At present, most plastic waste products are incinerated in Poland. In 2017, the recycling rate of plastic packaging in Poland was only 35%. According to EU regulations, Poland must reach 44% as soon as possible and achieve a 54% recycling rate of plastic packaging within five years.

From January 2021, the EU will levy a plastic tax based on the amount of improperly recycled plastics in EU member states. The tax is levied for countries rather than enterprises, and the main purpose is to encourage member states to increase investment in waste recycling systems. At present, the European Union proposes to impose a rate of 0.8 euro per kilogram of untreated waste, and the feasibility of further increasing the rate to 2 euro per kilogram was discussed at the European Parliament in September! Economically underdeveloped countries may receive certain discounts. Even at the current rate level, Poland will pay 429 million euros in plastic taxes each year.

Click on the link for details of EU plastic tax: "Plastic packaging tax" countdown, Tasty, Evian, Budweiser, Carlsberg and other measures to fulfill the 2025 commitment

The so-called single-use plastics directive will take effect in the EU next summer. In addition to investing in the transformation of production lines, manufacturers also need to establish an electronic waste database (BDO) for storing waste disposal records. These costs will eventually be passed on. To consumers.