Montreal merchants will have to stop using cups, straws and other simple plastic items as of March 28, which will be banned by the City of Montreal.
8 400 restaurants and food establishments affected have had 18 months to prepare by the city announcing in August 2021.
They will still have the right to receive additional reprimands before receiving fines for non-compliance, confirmed Marie-Andrée Mauger, head of the ecological transition and environmental management of the Plant.
“This is not an overnight thing that will no longer be a banned item,” he acknowledged Thursday. “We will show some tolerance and give traders time to sell their stock. We don’t want this organization to generate waste.”
In the next few weeks, city inspectors will then begin visiting businesses to assess compliance with the law. If applicable, a notice of violation will be issued, if the drops are still distributed on the second visit, a fine will be issued. It will vary from $400 to $4000.
“It is a transition that will give some challenges for restaurateurs,” said Geneviève Touchette, general manager of the Central, in the food hall of the center. In its constitution, the reduction of plastic products has been in place since its creation in 2019.
Plastics are still tolerated
Plastic cups, glasses and cups will now be banned from overseas by Royal Mail. The same will be said for coffee raising sticks and plastic straws.
Only plates and containers that can be fully recycled are allowed. Plastic utensils are permitted, but only at the customer’s request.
“We have tolerated some things, but we know that for some materials there are no outlets for recycling,” said the general director of the Quebec Common Front for Ecological Waste Management (FCQGED), Karel Ménard.
A reduction to the source
The city of Montreal and its greater metropolitan area have only one waste landfill, located in Lachenai, which will reach full capacity in 2029. The city therefore wants to reduce the use of plastic at the source.
For Mr. Ménard, while recycling is important, it is not the “best solution”. “The best solution is to avoid producing residual material,” he believes.
The use of composting materials should not be done either. Such a container risks being assimilated to a plastic container and not properly recycled.
“It is abnormal today that for a few moments we can have an object in our hands and throw it away, it is an unscrupulous waste,” said Mr. Ménard.
Ottawa also intends to introduce its rules on single-use plastic items by the end of 2023. Its standards will be complementary to those of Montreal, decides the director of FCQGED.
“The federal government is primarily targeting products that will be vital in marine wildlife, terrestrial wildlife and even in the landscape.” […] In Montreal, we attack objects that affect the landfill and human health,” he explained.
One is prohibited to use plastic items
Exceptions
*Note: There are seven types of recyclable materials that have been developed by the Plastics Industry Society (SPI) to make it easier to sort out and recycle plastic waste.
