VICTORIA – People in British Columbia will benefit from a cleaner environment and reduced waste from single-use plastics as new regulations come into effect.

People will see less plastic waste in their communities as the next phase of the CleanBC Plastics Action Plan comes into effect. Beginning Monday, July 15, 2024, plastic shopping bags will no longer be offered at stores and oxo-degradable plastic packaging and single-use products will no longer be sold in the province. These changes will keep harmful waste out of landfills and will reduce oxo-degradable plastics, which contain chemicals that cause break down into microplastics and pollute the environment.

It is estimated that more than 340,000 tonnes of plastic items and packaging were disposed of in British Columbia in 2019. This equates to more than 65 kilograms of plastic waste per person sent to the landfill in one year.

Phasing out single-use items is part of the CleanBC Plastics Action Plan to help us move away from temporary and disposable plastics to durable and reusable products.

These changes are the next step in Single-Use and Plastic Waste Prevention Regulation announced in July 2023, which limits the use of plastic shopping bags, disposable food-service accessories, oxo-degradable plastics, and food-service packaging made of polystyrene foam, PVC, PVDC, compostable and biodegradable plastics.

To better support businesses and industries to source alternative products, the Province is gradually rolling out changes through July 2030.

Learn More:

For more information and regulation guidelines, visit: https://www.gov.bc.ca/reuse

To read the Single-Use and Plastic Waste Prevention Regulation, visit: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/oic/oic_cur/0642_2023

For more information about B.C. legislation, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/legislation/

A backgrounder follows.

The regulation supports B.C.’s efforts to prevent single-use and plastic waste, divert more waste from landfills and keep consumer products working longer.

Dec. 20, 2023:

Banned:

• Plastic utensils, including spoons, forks, knifes, chopsticks, stir sticks and drink splash plugs
• Pre-packed bundled food-service accessories

By customer request only or from a self-service station:

• Wooden utensils
• Cup lids and sleeves
• Straws
• Condiments
• Napkins
• Wet wipes
• Garnishes (e.g., plastic sushi grass, umbrellas for drinks)

July 15, 2024:

Banned:

• Plastic shopping bags
• Food-service ware* made of biodegradable plastic, polystyrene foam (i.e., Styrofoam), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) materials
• Film wrap made from biodegradable plastic or PVDC
• All oxo-degradable plastics

For limited use (i.e., not prepared food for takeout, delivery or immediate consumption):

• Food-service ware and film wrap made from compostable plastic.

*Food-service ware is bowls, boxes or cartons, cups, containers, plates, platters and trays.

July 1, 2028:

• PVC film wrap will be banned.

July 1, 2030:

• Polystyrene foam trays will be banned.