A new poll shows that most British Columbians support the recently implemented federal ban on the import and manufacture of single-use plastics..The survey, conducted by ResearchCo., says 80% of British Columbians support the move to ban items such as grocery checkout bags, straws, six-pack rings, plastic cutlery, and more..Municipalities throughout the province can also implement bans on single-use plastics without provincial approval, and several municipalities have implemented their own guidelines for specific items..Research Co.’s President Mario Canseco says the highest level of support for the federal ban is observed on Vancouver Island at 84%, followed by Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Northern BC, and Southern BC..While Southern BC shows the least support, 73% of residents still favour the move..The province estimates that in 2019 more than 340,000 tonnes of plastic items and packaging were disposed of in BC, equating to more than 65 kilograms of plastic waste landfilled per person in one year..In July 2021, officials said more than 127 tonnes of plastic had been removed from BC’s coastline since the previous year, much of which comes from overseas..Metro Vancouver residents — who strongly favour the single-use plastics ban — also threw away roughly 260 million face masks in 2021, the equivalent of 94 masks per person, according to figures highlighted in a waste composition study..Overall, personal protective equipment (PPE) added up to roughly 710 million discarded items during the second year of the pandemic in Metro Vancouver. For example gloves, counted individually, made up 350 million of the district's disposed PPE items in 2021, and an estimated 100 million from disposable wipes..In November that year, Canada’s Department of Environment also highlighted that tens of thousands of tonnes of face masks had been discarded nationwide since the start of COVID-19.
