The Government of Canada’s Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations came into effect December 20, 2022. The first stage of these regulations is the prohibition of the manufacture and import for sale of problematic plastics, as defined by the Regulations. 

The Regulations are part of the Government of Canada’s plan to meet its target of zero plastic waste by 2030, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

There are 6 categories of plastic items targeted by the regulations: 

1. Checkout bags – designed to carry purchased goods from a business and typically given to a customer at the retail point of sale

2. Cutlery including knives, forks, spoons, sporks and chopsticks

3. Foodservice ware designed for service or transporting food or beverages

4. Ring carriers – flexible and designed to surround beverage containers in order to carry them

5. Stir sticks- for stirring beverages or for the prevention of spillage from the lid

6. Straws including straight drinking straws & flexible straws. The federal Regulations note exceptions for single-use plastic flexible straws. 
   Single-use plastic straws that are not flexible are prohibited under all circumstances

For more information please visit the Province of BC's Plastics webpage or the Government of Canada's Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations webpage.