Frequently asked questions
POLICY & REGULATION
Single-Use Plastics Ban Remains In Effect: Updated September 2024
For the moment the Canadian Federal Single-Use Plastics Ban remains in effect, restricting the import and manufacture of certain single-use plastic products for sale and distribution in Canada.
In 2023 the ban focused on restricting the import and manufacture of some of the most ubiquitous single-use items used in retail and food service, including plastic shopping bags, cutlery, food serviceware, stir sticks, and straws.
The Federal Court ruled in November, 2023 to overturn the single-use plastic ban, on the grounds that it was unreasonable and unconstitutional to add plastic manufactured items to the list of toxic substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA, 1999). The federal government has appealed this decision, and during the appeal process the regulation of the single-use plastics named in the ban remains in effect.
The outcome of the federal government’s appeal is expected to be announced towards the end of this year. For more information about the ban and the items covered by it, please refer to our blog.
What single-use plastic items are banned across Canada?
The federal single-use plastic ban targets these items:
Some notable exceptions and definitions in the federal single-use plastic ban include:
In order to ensure accessibility for those who need a straw in order to drink, flexible plastic straws are not banned and can be distributed in the following situations:
Government of Canada. 2023. Single-use plastics prohibition regulations - Overview.
Justice Laws. 2022. Single-use plastics prohibition regulations.
Retail Council of Canada. 2024. Federal plastic ban appeal advances.
For more information about the ban and the items covered by it, please refer to our blog.
Are compostable plastic items banned in Canada?
No, compostable plastic items are not banned in Canada. All the products available on our webstore can be used in Canada and comply with the Federal Single-Use Plastics Ban.
Most plastic products that can no longer be used under the Federal Ban can be replaced with compostable plastic alternatives. However, some regional regulations restrict the use of compostable plastics, including Montreal's Single-Use Plastics by-law and British Columbia's regulation on the prevention of plastic waste and single-use items.
Compostable plastic utensils are still allowed to be imported, manufactured, and sold as long as they are dishwasher safe and can still be used after 100 cycles. Follow these links to find compostable plastic cutlery, stir sticks, compostable plastic straws, carrier rings, and foodservice ware containers that are allowed as solutions to banned single-use items.
BC’s single use plastics ban includes compostable bioplastics
British Columbia’s Single-Use and Plastic Waste Prevention Regulation is phasing out plastic items and food service accessories intended for single-use, alongside the Federal Single-Use Plastics Ban.
Since December 2023, plastic utensils and straws have been prohibited. Other single use ‘food service accessories’ may only be available upon a customer’s request and include:
What single-use plastic items are banned in B.C.?
As of July 2024, the ban has extended to all ‘hard to recycle’ plastics. This includes compostable plastics and means food and beverages may not be sold in single use PLA packaging and PLA shopping bags may no longer be used.
Even though compostable plastics are permitted under the Federal single-use plastic bans, it has been stated that they will be banned in B.C. until provincial infrastructure develops to the point where the materials are easily and reliably composted or recycled.
What exceptions are there for the B.C. Single Use Plastic Items Ban?
There are a few specific exceptions to the single use plastics ban:
Some municipalities have their own policies and regulations regarding these exceptions, particularly concerning the use of compostable plastic bin liners.
Government of British Columbia. 2024. Single-use and plastic waste prevention regulation.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. 2024. Compostable plastics.
Montreal’s single-use plastic ban also includes compostable bioplastics
Montreal’s single-use plastic ban is a by-law that prohibits the distribution of single-use plastics by food service businesses that sell directly to consumers, whether for on-site consumption, takeaway, or delivery. The ban includes compostable plastics like PLA, and applies to the following items:
Shopping bags which are exempt from the regulation include:
Montreal’s single-use plastic ban does not apply to establishments that do not sell directly to consumers on-site. While the federal single-use plastic ban still applies, the following are not affected by the additional restrictions of Montreal’s single-use ban:
Our compostable products accepted for use and sale in Montreal can be found here.
Why are some compostable plastic items not allowed in Montreal?
The food-waste treatment facilities built over the last decade for the City of Montreal and other jurisdictions were not designed to accept compostable plastics. This has created a ‘where facilities exist’ kind of problem for these jurisdictions, which is a main driving force behind the restrictions imposed on compostable plastic products in Montreal.
Montréal. 2022. Plastic bags: What you need to know about legislation.
Montréal. 2023. Single-use plastic: What you need to know about legislation.
How to compost PLA products through our EPR Program!
Compostable.ca is developing its network of collection and processing partners across the country in order to offer an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) type of program, ensuring that every compostable item we sell can indeed get composted no matter where you are in Canada.
The goal of this network is to facilitate the collection of PLA and other bioplastic products in Montreal, Toronto, and other urban centres that do not properly process compostables.
As of Spring 2024, we can confirm that Compost Montreal and our composting partners in Toronto accept and properly compost all products offered through Compostable.ca. To learn more about these composting options, please submit a contact form on our site, and we’ll be glad to provide you more details.
We’ll provide regular updates on participating EPR partners and service areas as our program continues to develop across the country. For questions or comments please get in touch!
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Why choose compostable?
• Compostable products play a crucial role in reducing methane emissions.
• Compostable products help reduce contamination in the recycling stream.
• Compostable products reduce carbon emissions.
The plant material used in compostable products is rich in stored carbon, and this CO2 remains locked in the final compostable product. When the product gets composted the carbon is transferred back to the soil and stored again, where it can improve soil health and support plant productivity.
For a full exploration of these issues, please have a look at our blog on the subject.
Graham, M. 2023. A simple way to prevent heaps of methane pollution: Composting. Grist.
Goldstein, N. 2016. Compostable products and postconsumer food scraps. BioCycle.
Pérez, T., et al. 2023. Assessing the climate change mitigation potential from food waste composting. Nature.
"I heard compostable products don’t return any nutrition to the soil"
Not only does the use of compostable products reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, it also directly contributes to soil health through two primary means:
• Returning the CO2 that is stored in the packaging to the soil.
This increases the soil’s organic carbon, which is highly beneficial to plant growth.
• Capturing more nitrogen that would otherwise create methane.
Greater plant growth means greater circularization of carbon. The greater nutrition offered to the soil through the use of compostables not only prevents greenhouse gas emissions, it also increases the capacity of plants to pull ever-greater amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.