Imagine a world without takeout coffee cups or plastic utensils.
While concerns over the environment remain high in the public consciousness, most Canadians are still used to grabbing non-recyclable food containers and coffee cups on their way to work and purchasing products that come with an excessive amount of plastic packaging.
But brewing discontent over the amount of waste such packaging produces, and its burden on the environment, is putting new pressure on industry to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic.A national task force of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment is in the process of creating a cross-country strategy for reduction of packaging from consumer goods. Some retailers across Canada have begun voluntarily eliminating packaging from their stores whenever possible. Several cities, notably London, Ont., are considering or imposing restrictions on sales of plastic water bottles at municipal facilities. And last week, Toronto city council said it's prepared to consider a variety of measures, from making manufacturers pay for recycling some products to an outright ban on fast food and other wasteful consumer packaging.
"This is one part of a bigger picture of 'how do we stop consuming ourselves to death?' " said Glenn De Baeremaeker, chairman of Toronto's public works and infrastructure committee. "We have to stop living in a throwaway society."
However, environmental experts and advocates say move toward a serious reduction in waste from packaging will happen only if consumers are willing to alter their behaviour. People have become so accustomed to making choices based on convenience, rather than environmental impact, that any change will require a concerted effort by a large segment of society, said environmental advocate Jay Sinha, who avoids plastic whenever possible.
Mr. Sinha and his wife, who live in Wakefield, Que., founded a business, Life Without Plastic, about five years ago after their son was born because they were worried about potential health consequences from using plastic bottles.
Mr. Sinha said the public response has been enthusiastic, particularly in the past year, after heightened attention to the presence of the potentially harmful substance bisphenol A in baby bottles and other consumer products.
"It's becoming easier and easier [to avoid plastic], but it does take a conscious shift," he said. "People are in a hurry. They want to get to work, they want to get home. Unless you're really consciously thinking about making a change, it's really easy just to grab a coffee. It takes less time, it's more convenient."
Canada has a major plastics industry that generated shipments of products worth nearly $20-billion in 2007, according to Industry Canada. Of that, plastic bottles comprised $830-million worth of shipments. About 34 per cent of plastics produced in Canada go toward packaging, while 18 per cent goes to the automotive sector.
While other countries have already taken significant steps to reduce waste from consumer products, Canada has lagged in major efforts to wean industries and consumers off excessive amounts of plastic packaging. For instance, many companies operating in the European Union must contribute toward the cost of recycling, creating an incentive for them to package more efficiently.
However, the backlash against packaging on consumer products is growing in Canada. Plastic bags and, more recently, plastic water bottles, have been widely criticized by environmental organizations and a growing number of politicians as wasteful and unnecessary, and the movement to curb the use of plastic packaging has also picked up steam.
The issue reached a boiling point in Toronto this month after city council declared it was considering a ban on many common restaurant takeout containers as a way to cut down on waste.
