Guidance for Selecting
Alternatives to
Single-use Plastics
as defined in the Single-use Plastics
Prohibition Regulations
En14-494/2-2022E-PDF
978-0-660-44140-5
EC22035
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3
Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
TABLE OF CONTENT
Purpose 4
Background 4
Audience 4
How to use this document 5
The Management Framework for Single-use Plastics 5
Applying the waste management hierarchy in decision-making 7
Preventing pollution by reducing plastics 7
Preventing pollution through reuse 8
Preventing pollution by facilitating value recovery of plastics 8
Considerations for alternative single-use plastics 9
External guidance on preferred plastic materials 9
Guidance specific to each single-use plastic subject to the Regulations 10
Single-use Plastic Checkout Bags 10
Single-use Plastic Cutlery 10
Single-use Plastic Foodservice Ware 11
Single-use Plastic Ring Carriers 11
Single-use Plastic Stir Sticks 12
Single-use Plastic Straws 12
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
PURPOSE
On June 22, 2022, the Government of Canada published the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
(the “Regulations”), in the Canada Gazette, Part II, that prohibit the manufacture, import, sale and eventually export of
six categories of single-use plastic (SUP) items. The categories of items are checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware
made from or containing problematic plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws. To help businesses and organiza-
tions transition away from these products, the Government of Canada has developed this guidance document
outlining important considerations to take into account when selecting alternative products or systems that prevent
plastic pollution and help Canada transition to a circular economy.
BACKGROUND
The Government of Canada is taking ambitious action to reduce plastic pollution through a comprehensive approach
that addresses the entire lifecycle of plastics. This approach seeks to transition Canada away from a linear economy
that disposes of plastic as waste, and towards a circular economy that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the
environment through activities such as better product design and higher rates of reuse, repair, remanufacture,
refurbishment, and recycling.
The Regulations are one part of this broader approach and are enacted using authorities provided by the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act, 1999, which is an essential federal tool for preventing plastic pollution and supporting
the move to a circular economy.
This document reflects comments received during the development of the Regulations and respond, to the need for
businesses and organizations to have guidance on switching to available alternative products and systems.
AUDIENCE
The Government has developed this guidance for businesses and organizations that are providing single-use plastics
identified in the Regulations to the Canadian market or to the public. This would include, among others, manufactur-
ers, importers, distributors and retailers of single-use plastic items, as well as businesses, like grocery stores, pharma-
cies, hotels, restaurants and other organizations that provide single-use plastics to the public to eat, drink or carry
their purchases.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
This guidance document reflects best practices for choosing alternatives to the six categories of single-use plastic
items identified in the Regulations. Following the principles outlined in this document will:
THE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR SINGLEUSE PLASTICS
The Government has developed a Management Framework for Single-use Plastics as part of an
integrated manage-
ment approach
to plastic products to prevent waste and pollution. The Framework outlines 3 steps the Government
follows in evaluating the environmental impact of a single-use plastic in order to choose appropriate measures to
manage those impacts. The first step involves categorizing single-use plastics that are environmentally problematic,
value recovery problematic, or both, according to the following criteria:
Category Criteria
Environmentally
problematic
• Prevalent in natural and/or urban environments, according to citizen science, civil
society or municipal litter audit data
• Known or suspected to cause environmental harm (for example, ingestion by wildlife
or entanglement risk to wildlife, etc.)
Value-recovery
problematic
• Hampers recycling systems or wastewater treatment (nutrient or additive contamina-
tion, material or size/shape incompatible with recycling technology, etc.)
• Low to very low recycling rate (lower than average recycling rate for packaging, from
0-22%)
• Barriers to increasing their recycling rate exist
• Assist businesses and organizations in choosing alternatives that
prevent pollution and reduce waste; and
• Help align businesses’ decisions with industry best practices.
This guidance document may be updated from time to time to improve
clarity and to address issues with the implementation of the Regulations
as they arise.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
Applying the environmentally problematic and value recovery problematic criteria from the Management Framework,
the Guidance Matrix (Figure 1) below can be used to help businesses and organisations situate potential alternatives
to the six categories of SUPs in the Regulations:
Figure 1: Decision Matrix to Guide the Selection of Alternatives
The second step of the Management Framework is to set management objectives. The proposed environmental
objectives of the Management framework for single-use plastics are to:
• eliminate or significantly reduce single-use plastics entering Canada’s environment
• reduce the environmental impact of plastic products overall
• conserve material resources by increasing the value recovery of plastics
The third and final step of the Management Framework is to choose the appropriate instrument using an Instrument
Choice Framework to guide the decision on the instrument that is best suited to achieve the management objectives
identified in Step 2.
GUIDANCE MATRIX FOR
SELECTING ALTERNATIVES
Improved Value Recovery
Improved
Environmental
Protection
No noticeable benefit over single use plastics,
as products may still end up in the environment
or have value recovery challenges.
Examples may include shrink wrap to carry
beverage containers.
Improved value recovery by increasing
recyclability or recycling rates. However,
no significant improvements are made in
environmental protection.
Examples may include single-use HDPE rigid
beverage carriers and polypropylene (PP)
food container.
Maximise both environmental protection and
value recovery. These are alternatives that
reduce the amount of waste that ends up in
environment though eective waste management
practices and consideration of full Life Cycle
Assessments (LCAs).
Examples may include reusable straws and
options that eliminate the previous single-use
item altogether.
Improved environmental protection by reducing
amount of plastic pollution in the environment
and/or reducing risk of environmental harm.
There are some environmental challenge, like
GHGs emission and energy consumption through-
out the life cycle. Products may still suer from
value recovery problems at end of life.
Examples may include container reuse programs
single-use paper straws, and single-use paper bags.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
APPLYING THE WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY IN
DECISIONMAKING
The waste management hierarchy illustrates methods to reduce plastic waste and pollution in order of preference.
While recycling often gets a lot of attention, the hierarchy shows that reducing and reusing products are more
eective in reducing plastic pollution. This hierarchy is endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the
Environment in its 2018 Strategy on Zero-Plastic Waste (see Figure 2), and is a useful tool for ranking the potential
outcome of a particular product or system that could replace single-use plastics. For example, a reusable alternative
is preferable to a recyclable alternative, while reducing consumption of single use products is yet a better option.
It is recommended that businesses evaluate opportunities to eliminate unnecessary plastic products. Where a plastic
product performs an essential function, businesses and organizations should investigate opportunities to choose or
redesign products in a way that reduces the amount of plastic waste at their end of life.
Figure 2: Waste Management Hierarchy
Preventing pollution by reducing plastics
The best form of pollution prevention is through reduction, which means reducing reliance on products that create
the waste that leads to pollution in the first place. Businesses may first wish to consider whether a single-use plastic
needs to be replaced at all, or whether that product or service can be eliminated. For example, businesses can
evaluate products for redundant or unnecessary packaging that can be eliminated without aecting quality.
Reducing plastics by replacing them with non-plastic equivalents may be an option for products with essential
functions. In the case of single-use plastic cutlery, stir sticks and straws, options exist that are made from a range of
non-plastic materials, such as wood, paper and moulded pulp fibre. When evaluating a replacement, it is important to
consider available information on the impacts of the product throughout its lifecycle, including the end-of-life options
for the chosen alternative. Businesses can check with local recyclers or composters to ensure that the item can be
properly managed once it becomes waste.
Reduce
Prevention
Most preferred/
Greatest value
Least preferred/
Lowest value
Value
recovery
Recycle
Energy
recovery
Repair
Reuse
Refurbish
Remanufacture
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
Preventing pollution through reuse
Redesigning products and services to provide reusable options is one way to reduce the need for single-use prod-
ucts that will end up in the waste stream. Choosing reusable products and packaging means less waste and pollu-
tion. As noted in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement that accompanies the Regulations, lifecycle analysis
studies indicate that reusable or refillable containers often have higher upstream environmental impacts when
compared to single-use items, but when used multiple times, these eects are reduced significantly, resulting in a
lower impact per item.
Refillable container programs are another reuse option that businesses can investigate. For example, Scout
Environmental’s publication, How to Start and Run a Bulk-Reuse Refillery, is available for download from their
website
.
The United Nation’s Environmental Program developed a
report on the life cycle environmental impacts of single-use
plastic products
compared to their alternatives. After conducting a series of meta-analyses of LCA studies on
single-use plastic products and their alternatives, the report found that the most sustainable products are those that
are reusable. Therefore, businesses are encouraged to select alternatives that lead to keeping resources at their
highest value, by replacing single-use plastic products with reusable products.
Preventing pollution by facilitating value recovery of plastics
Applying the waste management hierarchy, products and packaging whose only post-use option is value recovery
are less favourable to those that can be reused. Remanufacturing and refurbishing are unlikely to be applicable for
single-use products because they are not designed for durability; therefore, in most cases, value recovery for these
items would be limited to recycling.
As an example, single-use plastic foodservice ware made from problematic plastics could be replaced by more
recyclable alternatives, such as containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polypropylene. As men-
tioned above, businesses and organisations are encouraged to consult local recycling and composting facilities to
ensure that any replacement products can be properly managed at their end-of-life.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE SINGLEUSE PLASTICS
Figure 3: Circular Economy for Plastics
External guidance on preferred plastic materials
Organizations from industry, government and elsewhere have developed guidance documents that provide useful
tools for businesses to review when choosing alternatives and to asses the impact of the plastic in their products.
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment has committed to developing a reference compendium of
existing guidelines for recyclability and recommendations for use by jurisdictions and industry. This compendium is
scheduled to be released in 2022. Businesses are encouraged to consult this document when it is released to help
inform their decision-making.
In order to help their members, some industry associations have also developed their own guides.
However, it is important to note that recycling capability can vary
significantly by region, and communicating with local recycling facilities
can help ensure products will be successfully processed when they
reach their end-of-life. In addition to the environmental impacts of
plastic, when it is disposed of in a landfill, or littered, it represents a lost
resource in a circular economy (see Figure 3).
PRODUCTION
DISTRIBUTION
design
consumption
COLLECTION
Recycling
residual
waste
R
e
fi
l
l
-
R
e
f
u
r
b
i
s
h
-
R
e
m
a
n
u
f
a
c
t
u
r
e
R
e
u
s
e
-
R
e
p
a
i
r
raw
materials
Restaurants Canada developed
a “Single-use Items Reduction
Strategy Guide” in order to help its
members choose best practices
regarding single-use plastics in
their operations.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO EACH SINGLEUSE PLASTIC SUBJECT TO
THE REGULATIONS
Single-use plastic checkout bags
Alternatives to single-use plastic checkout bags have become commonplace in Canada. Some large retailers have
eliminated single-use plastic bags prior to the Regulations coming into force. Reusable shopping bags and bins are
commonly used by customers to carry purchased goods. A 2021 Statistics Canada survey found that 96% of
Canadian households use their own bags or containers while grocery shopping. Of those that use their own bags or
containers, 43% always did, 36% often did, and 16% sometimes did. Meanwhile, only 4% of Canadians did not own or
use their bags or containers when grocery shopping
1
. However, reusable bags and bins must be reused several times
to maintain an advantage over single-use plastic bags
2
.
Reusable shopping bags must meet the performance requirements
in the Regulations. These requirements must be considered when
selecting an alternative.
The Technical Guidelines
oer more details
on the performance requirements for reusable checkout bags.
Some customers have raised concerns about the cleanliness of
reusable bags. Advertising and consumer education about the
importance of washing reusable bags, especially after being used
for non-grocery purposes, is likely to help encourage their contin-
ued use.
Other alternatives for customers are the reusable bin, which is often
made out of rigid plastic and may have fabric handles that facilitate
its transportation, and the cardboard box, which is recyclable at its
end-of-life.
Single-use plastic cutlery
Single-use plastic cutlery is primarily associated with takeout meals.
However, when a customer consumes a takeout meal at their
residence, single-use cutlery is not required, or often even desired,
by the customer. Businesses should consider giving customers the
option to specify whether they require single-use cutlery at all.
Businesses could also consider providing more meal options that do
not require the use of cutlery (e.g., wraps and sandwiches).
When dining in, business should consider oering customers
reusable aluminium/stainless steel options versus non-plastic
single-use cutlery.
When single-use cutlery is required, alternative materials are available (e.g. pressed and moulded fibre, bamboo,
wood). Forests in Canada are managed according to sustainable forest management principles. If replacing
single-use plastic cutlery with wooden ones, consider choosing products that are sourced locally, or look for a label
that shows the product is third-party certified to an internationally recognized system for sustainable forest manage-
ment. This will provide assurance that forest products have been sourced legally and sustainably.
1 Statistics Canada. Table 38-10-0144-01 Single-use plastics
2 UN Environment Programme. SUPB.pdf (unep.org)
Some companies left single-use bags
behind prior to the Regulations coming
into force. Costco stores do not
provide bags of any sort, encouraging
customers to reuse their boxes or
bring their own bags.
In July 2019, Sobeys announced it
would eliminate plastic checkout bags
from all locations, removing 225
million plastic bags from circulation
each year. Paper and various types of
reusable bags are available to custom-
ers for a modest fee.
In 2021, McDonalds eliminated plastic
stir sticks, straws and cutlery in more
than 1,400 restaurants across Canada.
These items were replaced by wooden
alternatives. By eliminating these
items, it is estimated that 840 tonnes
of plastic are being removed from
landfills annually.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
New materials are starting to enter the market, like edible cutlery made of cereals (e.g. wheat, oats, corn or rice).
Charging customers a fee for single-use cutlery may also discourage their use.
Single-use plastic foodservice ware
In the Regulations, foodservice ware is designed for serving or
transporting food or beverage that is ready to be consumed; is
shaped as clamshell containers, lidded containers, boxes, cups,
plates, or bowls; and contains polystyrene foam, polyvinyl chloride,
carbon black or oxo-degradable plastics. The
Technical Guidelines
oer further details and guidance on foodservice ware.
Encouraging customers to bring their own containers or developing
a deposit and refund system for reusable containers are options that
would reduce the amount of single-use plastic food packaging and
foodservice ware. Reusable alternatives to single-use plastic food-
service ware include containers made of glass, stainless steel,
silicone or rigid recyclable plastic. Another option is to engage with
local recycling facilities to determine which plastics are recyclable,
thereby reducing the amount sent to landfill. Some alternatives can
be plant-based or fibre-based, and if certified compostable, could
reduce the quantity of plastic sent to landfill. It is important to
remember that in some areas, the company collecting products
for recycling or composting, and the company responsible for the
recycling or composting process are not the same. Businesses
should therefore verify that their products are accepted by local
recycling or organics collections programs, otherwise these items
will end up being discarded.
Plastic alternatives that contain recycled content, totally or in part, may have some additional considerations, espe-
cially if used in contact with food. The use of recycled plastics, as with any other plastic material, in food packaging
applications must comply with the safety provisions of the Food and Drugs Act and associated regulations. Health
Canada requires that the recycled plastic resin, used to produce single-use plastic items that come in contact with
food be “food grade”. Health Canada has developed
Guidelines for Determining the Acceptability and Use of Recycled
Plastics in Food Packaging Applications
to assist business.
Single-use plastic ring carriers
Single-use plastic ring carriers are unique among the list of banned
single-use plastic items because they are often applied to products
before arriving at retail locations. Alternative products can already be
found on the Canadian market, and include cardboard boxes, rigid
plastic snap-on carriers or fiber-based carriers, or adhesives that
hold beverage containers together. When choosing an alternative
to single-use plastic, businesses should try to avoid value recovery
problematic options, like plastic film, as these can be dicult
to recycle.
Loop is a company that is testing a
deposit and refund system for several
grocery items. The products are
delivered in durable, returnable pack-
aging that can be collected, cleaned
and reused.
In Quebec, the grocery chain Metro
allows customers to bring their own
re-sealable containers to package
items from the deli, ready-to-eat, meat,
fish and seafood and pastry counters.
Yum! Brands removed consumer-facing
packaging made from extruded poly-
styrene foam (XPS) and expanded
polystyrene (EPS) globally, across all its
KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations.
In Canada, the E6PR (Eco Six Pack
Ring) is made of a non-plastic natural
fiber and is available to provide the
same function as single-use plastic
ing carriers.
Another alternative for the plastic
ring carrier is the CanCollar®, a
durable, paperboard-based multipack
solution for cans.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
Single-use plastic stir sticks
In some cases, the need for stir sticks can be eliminated by rede-
signing how beverages are served, for example, some drinks can be
premixed and stirred before reaching the customer. When their use
cannot be eliminated, several alternatives to single-use plastic stir
sticks are already available and in use in the Canadian market.
The principal reusable alternative is a metal spoon. A number of
single-use alternatives made of natural materials, such as wood or
sugar cane, are also available.
Single-use plastic straws
In many situations, eliminating all single-use straws is the simplest
option. Most customers do not require a straw to consume a bever-
age while seated at a table. Furthermore, some companies have
designed lids that make it easier to consume a beverage without
a straw.
Reusable straws made from metal, glass and silicone are available for
Canadians to purchase. For customers who want to continue to use a
straw to consume a beverage, single-use non-plastic straws (e.g., made
from paper) are a viable option.
The Regulations continue to allow Canadians to buy packages of multiple
single-use plastic flexible straws in retail stores if they are kept out of
public view and oered on request. The intent is to ensure that persons
who require a single-use plastic flexible straw will continue to have access
at home and can carry them to restaurants and other premises. Hospitals,
long-term care facilities and other care institutions will also have continued
access to single-use plastic flexible straws to provide to patients or resi-
dents who require them.
For more information, please visit Environment and Climate Change
Canada’s
website
.
Tim Horton’s has phased out plastic
stir sticks in favour of wood-based stir
sticks in their restaurants in Canada
and the USA since 2019. This change
is expected to eliminate 186 million
plastic stir sticks annually.
Airlines are taking steps in using
alternatives to single use plastics. Air
Canada uses wood stir sticks on their
planes, eliminating 35 million plastic
stir sticks annually.
In 2019, Starbucks and Tim
Hortons introduced “strawless”
lids for cold drinks, allowing
customers to consume cold drinks
without a straw.
Other restaurants, like A&W, made
the switch from plastic straws to
paper straws in 2019.
Red Lobster is sourcing and
testing a variety of plastic straw
replacements, one of them being
red licorice.
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Guidance for Selecting Alternatives to Single-use Plastics as
defined in the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations
REFERENCES
1. Statistic Canada. Table 38-10-0144-01 : Single-use plastics
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/fr/tv.ac-
tion?pid=3810014401&request_locale=fr
2. UN Environment Programme. Single-use plastic bags and their alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle
Assessments (PDF)
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/
reduce-plastic-waste/single-use-plastic-guidance.html
