Ottawa city council to vote on scrapping single-use plastics

Plastic straws are pictured in North Vancouver, B.C. on Monday, June 4, 2018 (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward).

A motion set to come before Ottawa city council on Wednesday would, if passed, require city facilities to stop buying single-use plastics, such as straws and stir sticks, immediately.

The motion comes in advance of the formal start of the federal single-use plastics ban. As of Dec. 20, the manufacture and importation of several categories of plastics will be prohibited in Canada and the sale of those products in Canada will be banned one year later.

Affected items include plastic checkout bags, plastic cutlery, straws, takeout containers and stir sticks.

A motion to be brought forward Wednesday by Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, seconded by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, calls on city staff to cease buying single-use plastics like stir sticks and straws right away.

Staff would also be directed to find ways to reduce as much plastic waste as possible within the next term of council or as soon as is practically possible and to report back on results in early 2025.

In addition to barring imports and domestic manufacture starting Dec. 20, the federal plastics ban would prohibit domestic sales of single-use plastics starting in Dec. 2023 and exports by 2025, with a goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.

The federal rules include exceptions for single-use plastic straws to accommodate people with disabilities. It’s unclear if those same exceptions will be made in city of Ottawa facilities, as the motion to be discussed Wednesday doesn’t mention them.

Council meets Wednesday and 2023 budget directions will be the dominant discussion. City staff suggest a 2 to 2.5 per cent tax increase, in line with a promise Sutcliffe made on the campaign trail, and a 2.5 per cent transit fare increase; however, a motion will be presented to freeze fares for one year.