SGS : Canada Bans Several Categories of Single Use Plastic Product

SG 087.22

Canada is regulating six categories of single-use plastic product. The provisions in the new law will be implemented in phases, starting in December 2022.

On June 22, 2022, Canada issued its Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138, the Regulation) to prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of six categories of single-use plastic:

• Checkout bags
• Cutlery
• Foodservice ware
• Ring carriers
• Stir sticks
• Straws

The new law contains, among other items, several important provisions:

• Defines these six-categories of single-use plastics as products made entirely or in part from plastic
• Exempts single-use plastic flexible straws - these are single-use plastic straws having a corrugated section that allows the straw to bend and maintain its position at various angles
• Requires any physical characteristics of single-use plastic check out bags, single-use plastic cutlery, single-use plastic flexible straws, single-use plastic foodservice ware or single-use plastic straws to be analyzed by an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab where the accreditation body is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA), or under the Environmental Quality Act. Additionally, the analysis of the physical characteristic test must be accredited, otherwise the analysis must be performed in accordance with standards of good scientific practice
• Provides a temporary exemption on manufacture, import and sale for the purposes of export, for all categories of single-use plastics until December 19, 2025 - 42 months after the Regulation is registered
• Requires record keeping by manufacturers for export, or imports for the purpose of exports, for at least five years at the person's principal place of business in Canada or at any place in Canada where they can be inspected

The provisions in the new law will be implemented in phases, starting December 20, 2022.

Highlights of the new law are summarized in Table 1.

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 13, June 22, 2022 Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations: SOR/2022-138, Registration: June 20, 2022
Item	Scope	Requirement	Effective Date
1	Single-use plastic straws	Prohibited (manufacture or import)¹	December 20, 2022
Prohibited (sale)²	December 20, 2023
2	Single-use plastic checkout bags Single-use plastic cutlery Single-use plastic foodservice ware Single-use plastic stir sticks	Prohibited (manufacture or import)	December 20, 2022
Prohibited (sale)	December 20, 2023
3	Single-use plastic ring carriers	Prohibited (manufacture or import)	June 20, 2023
Prohibited (sale)	June 20, 2024
¹Single-use plastic flexible straws are exempt ²Sale is allowed in the following settings: People may sell single-use plastic flexible straws in a non-commercial, non-industrial and non-institutional setting Businesses may sell a package of 20 or more single-use plastic flexible straws to another business Retail stores may sell a package of 20 or more single-use plastic flexible straws if there is a request by customers and the package is not displayed Retail stores may sell a single-use plastic flexible straw if this is packaged together with a beverage container and packaging was done at a location other than the retail store (will be repealed on June 20, 2024) Hospitals, medical facilities, long-term care facilities, or other care institutions may sell single-use plastic flexible straws to patients or residents

Table 1

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