After years of expensive meetings which go nowhere, the United Nations’ (UN) plastics treaty talks have collapsed as U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the plastic production limits that the UN was working toward implementing. After years of deliberation and an onslaught of lobbying by the so-called environmental groups that are largely funded by our tax dollars, it appears that the UN efforts have reached an impasse. That is good news for the industry, consumers and society generally.
The role of plastics in our economy and society is massive and vital. Where would our healthcare system be without the wide range of sterile, inexpensive, malleable plastic equipment, implants and medical devices? In the food industry, plastic packaging means food lasts longer and remains free of contamination. Plastics are frequently a positive contributor to the environment as they replace heavy components such as steel in automobiles and planes, making them lighter and more energy efficient. Plastic components have become essential in many industries that now could not operate without them.
In their zeal to eliminate plastics, proponents often ignore or minimize the problems with their replacements. For instance, replacements for plastic containers such as steel or glass are much heavier to transport, therefore using up much more energy, and glass is breakable. Glass and steel are also more expensive so will increase the cost of products. Plastic packaging reduces food waste by extending the freshness of food items. There is virtually no replacement for much of the plastic used in healthcare, as plastics can be molded to fit and be used in the body as it is sterile and will not degrade. Paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic bags as their manufacture uses more energy and water and produces more greenhouse gases. And we all know how useless those paper straws were when they replaced plastic ones.
There are definitely issues with plastic pollution, but the majority of those can be dealt with via better and more comprehensive recycling or incinerating waste to produce energy. Plastic bottles, for example, are 100 per cent recyclable, as are many other plastic products. But consumers and governments need to be more diligent in ensuring the recycling takes place. Also, much of the plastics problem stems from Asia, where plastics are dumped into waterways and end up in the ocean. How will imposing limits on plastics production in the developed world have any impact on that? Do government officials really believe the developing countries are suddenly going to change their irresponsible plastics disposal habits? A better solution would be to assist these countries in developing means of recycling or use plastic waste to produce energy via incineration.
Canadian businesses in the industry also continue to innovate, producing plastic products that are better and faster at degrading in landfills, including grocery store check-out bags, and this will continue. Strangely, even when these innovative products have been proven to be positive for the environment, governments – including Canada’s federal government – still tries to ban them. It often seems the ideology which dislikes plastics in general has very little to do with the facts. The motivation of the Canadian government appears to be the ultimate elimination of the oil and gas industry, including the valuable plastic products it enables, rather than acknowledge that many of the innovative plastic products on the market today can alleviate many of the concerns about plastics.
Once again, it seems like a knee-jerk reaction to some plastic pollution is being used to obscure the many positives that the range of products made with plastic bring to our lives. Instead of a superficial, virtue-signalling approach, governments need to balance the many advantages plastics provide to health care, sterile food packaging, enabling lighter automobiles that are more energy efficient, among others, with any downsides.
In Canada, the Liberal government’s initial ban on such items as plastic cutlery, checkout bags, takeout containers, and straws at the end of 2022 was overturned by the courts as being unconstitutional and unscientific. The Liberal government appealed this decision, and the results of that appeal are expected later this year. Let’s hope the collapse of the UN’s treaty ends up quashing the Canadian efforts to ban this valuable and virtually irreplaceable product for good, with more of a focus on better solutions in the countries that are the main source of the plastics problem.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
