Oceana Canada asks Canadians not to have plastic, but acknowledges that alternatives are hard to find.
The marine conservation group says plastics are having a significant impact on the ocean environment and raising awareness about how to find ways to avoid plastic consumption in our daily lives.
Among the main concerns is the burning of plastic waste, something that Oceana Canada’s plastic campaign leader Anthony Merante calls a “false solution.”
He says they want the burning of plastic waste to be illegal in Canada.
He says about 4 per cent of Canada’s plastic waste is currently burned and accounted for as “recycling” with projections to increase it to 22 per cent by 2030. The problem, says Merante, is that chemistry, or advanced recycling, involves burning the plastic to convert it. turn it into fuel that releases pollutants into the air, water and soil. Many of these pollutants cause cancer, and more often, Merante says, they are found in communities that are most at risk of being exposed to these pollutants.