Fighting plastic pollution is a non-partisan issue: Oceana Canada poll shows vast majority of Canadians still support banning single-use plastics

Media contacts: Vaishali Dassani, Oceana Canada, vdassani@oceana.ca, 647-294-3335;
Angela Pinzon, Pilot PMR, angela.pinzon@pilotpmr.com, 647-295-0517. Multimedia resources available here.

Toronto, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnaabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples — A new poll commissioned by Oceana Canada and conducted by Abacus Data finds that 82 per cent of Canadians support the 18-month ban on single-use plastics, including checkout bags, six-pack rings, straws, takeout containers and cutlery. As Canada’s election approaches, this support spans all voting preferences, age groups and provinces of residence, indicating a strong national consensus on how to tackle one of the world’s greatest threats.

Additionally, with growing evidence that microplastics and plastic chemicals in our bodies are linked to cancers,(1) infertility,(2) respiratory problems,(3) hormonal disruption,(4) Alzheimer’s disease,(5) and heart disease,(6) 82% of Canadians are concerned about the impacts of plastics on human health.

“Canadians from coast to coast to coast have adapted to the ban on single-use plastics and have seen the benefits. Canadians expect the government to take serious, concrete action to reduce waste and ensure products and systems are truly circular, safe and of good quality,” said Anthony Merante, Senior Plastics Campaigner at Oceana Canada.

Oceana Canada is calling on the Canadian government and all political parties to prioritize the fight against plastic pollution. This includes ending the sale of plastic packaging that is not collected and recycled in Canada.

“Retailers have been promising this for years without taking action, and we can’t continue to burden a broken system,” added Merante. “Switching to materials that can be recycled and systems that reuse materials is both cost-effective and better for the planet. Companies continue to sell Canadians waste in the form of plastic packaging that ends up in the environment and in our bodies. The solution is clear: Canada needs to address the problem before it reaches the shelves, rather than wasting resources cleaning up massive amounts of waste.”

Plastic pollution crisis:
Canada faces a major plastic pollution problem, producing over four million tonnes of plastic waste each year, half of which comes from single-use plastic packaging, and surprisingly only 8% of plastic is recycled nationally. Major grocery stores, fast food chains, e-commerce and beverage bottlers are the main contributors to this waste. Studies show that plastic breaks down into micro- and nano-plastics, which are found everywhere, including in rain clouds, in the air and in our food, as well as in our lungs, brains and blood.

Main conclusions:

• 84% of women and 80% of men support banning the use of single-use plastics.
• Support was high across all regions of Canada, ranging from 72% among Alberta residents to 92% among Quebec residents.
• 82% of Canadians support a ban on single-use plastics, including 71% of those who plan to vote Conservative in the next election, 86% NDP and 93% Liberal.
• People over 60 (82%) and those under 30 (85%) are most concerned about the health impacts of plastic.
• 85% of women and 79% of men are concerned about the health impacts of plastic.

To learn more about Oceana Canada’s campaign to end single-use plastic pollution, visit Oceana.ca/Plastics.

Oceana Canada was founded in 2015 as an independent charity and is part of the largest international advocacy group dedicated exclusively to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada has successfully campaigned to ban single-use plastics, end the shark fin trade, make rebuilding depleted fish populations a law, improve fisheries management, and protect marine habitat. We work with civil society, academics, fishers, Indigenous peoples, and the federal government to restore health and abundance to Canada’s once vibrant oceans. By restoring Canada’s oceans, we can strengthen our communities, reap greater economic and nutritional benefits, and protect our future. For more information, visit www.oceana.ca.

The references

(1) Breast Cancer.org. (2023). Exposure to chemicals in plastic.

(2) Montano et al., (2023). Evidence of microplastics in human sperm by Raman microspectroscopy. Total Environmental Science. 901.

(3) Saha and Saha. (2024). Effect of microplastic deposition on human pulmonary airways: a review with computational advantages and challenges. Helion, 10(2).

(4) Ullah et al., (2023). A review of endocrine disrupting effects of micro and nano plastic and their associated chemicals in mammals. Frontiers of endocrinology, 13.

(5)Gou et al., (2024). Impact of nanoplastics on Alzheimer’s disease: increased aggregation of amyloid-β peptides and increased neurotoxicity. Hazardous Materials Journal, 465.

(6) Marfella and others., (2024). Microplastics and nanoplastics in atheromas and cardiovascular events. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(ten).