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82% of Canadians are concerned about the health impacts of microplastics and plastic chemicals

TORONTO, July 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Toronto, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples — A new Oceana Canada-commissioned poll by Abacus Data reveals that 82% of all Canadians support the now 18-month-old ban on single-use plastics, including checkout bags, six-pack rings, straws, takeout containers, and cutlery. With a Canadian election on the horizon, this support notably spans across voting preferences, age groups, and provinces of residence, indicating a strong national consensus on how to tackle one of the planet’s biggest threats.

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Additionally, with growing evidence that microplastics and plastic chemicals in our bodies are linked to cancers,¹ infertility,² breathing issues,³ hormone disruption,⁴ Alzheimer’s disease,⁵ and heart disease,⁶ 82% of Canadians are concerned about the human health impacts of plastics.

“Canadians from coast to coast to coast have adapted to the ban on single-use plastics and seen the benefits. Canadians expect serious and practical action from the government to reduce waste and ensure products and systems are truly circular, safe, and of good quality,” said Anthony Merante, Senior Plastics Campaigner, Oceana Canada.

Oceana Canada is calling on the Canadian government and all political parties to prioritize tackling plastic pollution. This includes ending the sale of plastic packaging that is not collected and recycled in Canada.

“Retailers have been promising this for years without action, and we cannot continue to burden a failing system”, added Merante. “Moving to materials that do get recycled and systems that reuse materials is both cost-effective and better for the planet. Companies continue to sell Canadians garbage in the form of plastic packaging that ultimately ends up in the environment and our bodies. The solution is clear: Canada needs to tackle the problem before it reaches the shelves, rather than wasting resources on cleaning up massive amounts of waste.”

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Plastic Pollution Crisis:
Canada faces a significant plastic pollution problem, producing more than four million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with half coming from single-use plastic packaging and shockingly only 8% of plastic is recycled nationally. Major grocery stores, fast food chains, e-commerce, and beverage bottlers are the primary contributors to this waste.⁷ Studies reveal that plastic breaks down into micro- and nano-plastics, which have been found everywhere, including in rain clouds, the air, and our food, as well as in our lungs, brain, and blood.

Key Findings:

• 84% of women and 80% of men support the ban of use single-use plastics.
• The support was high across every region of Canada, from 72% among residents of Alberta to 92% from residents of Quebec.
• 82% of Canadians support the ban on single-use plastics, including 71% of those who plan to vote Conservative in the next election, 86% NDP, and 93% Liberal.
• People over the age of 60 (82%) and people under 30 (85%) are most concerned about the health impacts of plastics.
• 85% of women and 79% of men are concerned about the health impacts of plastics.

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Find out more about Oceana Canada’s campaign to stop single-use plastic pollution at Oceana.ca/Plastics.

Oceana Canada was established as an independent charity in 2015 and is part of the largest international advocacy group dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana Canada has successfully campaigned to ban single-use plastics, end the shark fin trade, make rebuilding depleted fish populations the law, improve the way fisheries are managed and protect marine habitat. We work with civil society, academics, fishers, Indigenous Peoples and the federal government to return Canada’s formerly vibrant oceans to health and abundance. By restoring Canada’s oceans, we can strengthen our communities, reap greater economic and nutritional benefits and protect our future. Find out more at www.oceana.ca.

Media contacts: Vaishali Dassani, Oceana Canada, vdassani@oceana.ca, 647-294-3335;

Angela Pinzon, Pilot PMR, angela.pinzon@pilotpmr.com, 647-295-0517. Media assets available here.

¹
https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/risk-factors/exposure-to-chemicals-in-plastic
²https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723045473

³https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10826726/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20microplastics%20have%20been,impact%20on%20our%20immune%20systems.
⁴
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9885170/
⁵https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389424000979#:~:text=Nanoplastics%2C%20widely%20existing%20in%20the,like%20Alzheimer’s%20disease%20(AD).
⁶
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822

⁷
https://oceana.ca/en/reports/breaking-the-plastic-cycle-a-policy-roadmap-to-eliminate-one-third-of-canadas-plastic-packaging-waste/#:~:text=Breaking%20the%20Plastic%20Cycle%20is,all%20plastic%20waste%20in%20Canada.

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