Single - Use Plastics

From June 20, 2023, the manufacture and import for sale in Canada of ring carriers, as defined in the Regulations, will be prohibited. For more information, consult the section on the Guidance documents and fact sheets.

The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SUPPR) are part of the Government of Canada’s comprehensive plan to address pollution, meet its target of zero plastic waste by 2030, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Regulations prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of single-use plastic checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from or containing problematic plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks, and straws. An exception in the Regulations allow single-use plastic flexible straws to remain available, under certain conditions (outlined in the guidance documents below), so people who need them still have access.

The Regulations prohibit the manufacture, import, and sale of 6 categories of single-use plastics:

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

• Cutlery includes:
  

  • knives

  • forks

  • spoons

  • sporks

  • chopsticks

• Foodservice ware designed for serving or transporting food or beverage that is ready to be consumed, and that:

  • contains

    • expanded polystyrene foam

    • extruded polystyrene foam

    • polyvinyl chloride

    • carbon black

    • an oxo-degradable plastic

• are limited to the following items

  • clamshell containers

  • lidded containers

  • boxes

  • cups

  • plates

  • bowls

• Ring carriers are flexible and designed to surround beverage containers in order to carry them together.

• Stir sticks designed to stir or mix beverages, or to prevent a beverage from spilling from the lid of its container.

• Straws include:

  • straight drinking straws, and

  • flexible straws, which have a corrugated section that allows the straw to bend, packaged with beverage containers (juice boxes and pouches)

The Regulations do not apply to plastic manufactured items that are waste or that are transiting through Canada. Any person who manufactures, imports or sells (including to provide free of charge) any of the 6 categories of single-use plastics listed above is subject to the Regulations.

Guidance documents and fact sheets

• Technical Guidelines for the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations

• Guidance for selecting alternatives to the single-use plastics as defined in the Regulations

• Fact sheet: Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations

• Fact sheet: Exceptions for Single-use Plastic Flexible Straws

• City of Toronto: Reducing Single-Use & Takeaway Items Guide