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Transcript

Are All Plastics Toxic? What the Science Actually Says About Microplastics and Human Health · How To Protect The Ocean

• 0:00
  Can plastic be
• 0:01
  considered toxic
• 0:02
  for everybody?
• 0:03
  Well, it can in
• 0:04
  my country,
• 0:05
  in Canada,
• 0:06
  because a new law
• 0:07
  was upheld in the
• 0:08
  appeals court
• 0:08
  that says plastic
• 0:10
  can be toxic to
• 0:11
  everybody.
• 0:11
  We're gonna be
• 0:12
  talking to senior
• 0:13
  campaign manager
• 0:14
  for plastics for
• 0:15
  Oceana Anthony
• 0:17
  Morrente
• 0:18
  here to explain
• 0:18
  how this decision
• 0:20
  was made
• 0:21
  and what that
• 0:21
  means for Canada
• 0:23
  in terms of
• 0:24
  single use
• 0:24
  plastics.
• 0:26
  This is the "How
• 0:26
  to Protect the
• 0:27
  Ocean" podcast.
• 0:28
  And if you love
• 0:29
  this type of
• 0:29
  information,
• 0:30
  this ocean news
• 0:31
  each and every
• 0:31
  weekday,
• 0:32
  hit that follow
• 0:33
  button so that
• 0:33
  you can not miss
• 0:35
  any of the other
• 0:36
  episodes,
• 0:36
  including
• 0:37
  Monday's episode.
• 0:39
  Okay, today we
• 0:40
  are gonna be
• 0:40
  talking with
• 0:41
  Anthony Morrente,
• 0:42
  the senior
• 0:43
  campaigner on
• 0:44
  plastics for
• 0:45
  Oceana Canada.
• 0:46
  He's here to
• 0:47
  explain a
• 0:47
  new ruling
• 0:49
  that was upheld
• 0:49
  in the appeals
• 0:50
  court that says,
• 0:50
  "Hey, you
• 0:51
  know what?
• 0:52
  "It's okay to say
• 0:53
  that plastics can
• 0:54
  be toxic to
• 0:55
  everybody,
• 0:55
  "all plastics."
• 0:57
  And that was a
• 0:57
  recent decision
• 0:58
  that was appealed
• 0:59
  a while ago back
• 1:01
  in 2022 on a law
• 1:02
  that said,
• 1:03
  "Hey, you
• 1:03
  know what?
• 1:04
  "We're gonna put
• 1:04
  this in the
• 1:05
  Canadian
• 1:06
  Environmental
• 1:07
  "Protection Act
• 1:07
  to protect Canada
• 1:09
  "from different
• 1:09
  environmental
• 1:10
  concerns,
• 1:11
  including
• 1:11
  plastics."
• 1:12
  And then some
• 1:13
  regulations,
• 1:14
  including the
• 1:14
  single use ban
• 1:15
  on six different
• 1:16
  types of plastics
• 1:17
  that was
• 1:18
  implemented
• 1:19
  was at risk, to
• 1:22
  be honest, with
• 1:23
  this appeal
• 1:24
  that said,
• 1:25
  "Hey, you
• 1:25
  know what?
• 1:26
  "The chemical
• 1:27
  companies, the
• 1:27
  fossil fuel
• 1:28
  companies,
• 1:29
  "and so forth
• 1:29
  came out
• 1:30
  and said,
• 1:30
  "We don't think
• 1:31
  that all plastic
• 1:32
  is toxic to
• 1:33
  everyone,
• 1:34
  "and we don't
• 1:35
  think that that's
• 1:35
  a good way
• 1:36
  "of putting it in
• 1:36
  the law."
• 1:37
  Well, it got
• 1:38
  upheld in the
• 1:38
  appeals court.
• 1:39
  And so we
• 1:40
  are now seeing,
• 1:41
  and we've already
• 1:42
  started to see
• 1:42
  some changes in
• 1:44
  restaurants,
• 1:45
  in certain types
• 1:46
  of plastics that
• 1:46
  are available.
• 1:47
  You don't see any
• 1:47
  single use
• 1:48
  plastic bags
• 1:48
  anymore.
• 1:49
  Those are gone in
• 1:51
  grocery stores.
• 1:52
  We don't see as
• 1:53
  many
• 1:53
  styrofoam cups
• 1:55
  or as really any
• 1:56
  styrofoam cups
• 1:56
  or styrofoam
• 1:57
  takeout
• 1:58
  containers.
• 1:59
  We do see other
• 1:59
  plastic
• 2:00
  containers that
• 2:00
  are still
• 2:00
  allowed out,
• 2:01
  but that will
• 2:02
  come in time.
• 2:03
  And I can't
• 2:03
  believe I'm
• 2:04
  saying this,
• 2:04
  that we've done a
• 2:05
  good thing here
• 2:06
  in Canada.
• 2:06
  We've really
• 2:07
  started to lead
• 2:08
  with plastic
• 2:09
  management
• 2:10
  and making sure
• 2:11
  that we are not
• 2:11
  using single
• 2:12
  plastic.
• 2:13
  So today, on
• 2:14
  today's episode,
• 2:14
  we're gonna get
• 2:15
  into the
• 2:15
  interview with
• 2:16
  Anthony Morrente,
• 2:17
  Senior Campaigns
• 2:18
  Manager for
• 2:18
  Oceana Canada,
• 2:19
  talking about the
• 2:20
  ban on plastics.
• 2:21
  Enjoy the
• 2:21
  interview and
• 2:22
  I'll talk
• 2:22
  to you after.
• 2:23
  Hey Anthony, welcome
• 2:24
  back to the
• 2:25
  "How to Protect
• 2:25
  the Ocean"
• 2:26
  podcast.
• 2:26
  Are you ready to
• 2:27
  continue our
• 2:28
  conversation
• 2:28
  on banning single
• 2:30
  use
• 2:30
  plastics in Canada?
• 2:32
  Thank you for
• 2:32
  having me.
• 2:33
  Yeah, it's been
• 2:33
  three years of
• 2:34
  this
• 2:34
  conversation.
• 2:35
  So let's
• 2:36
  keep it going.
• 2:37
  (laughing) Look, it's been
• 2:38
  really
• 2:39
  interesting,
• 2:40
  following
• 2:40
  this ban.
• 2:41
  I mean, it's been
• 2:42
  in the works for
• 2:43
  a long time.
• 2:44
  Like it got
• 2:44
  actually passed
• 2:45
  earlier.
• 2:46
  We'll talk about
• 2:47
  the years and
• 2:47
  everything
• 2:47
  and getting into
• 2:48
  the specifics.
• 2:49
  It got passed.
• 2:50
  And then it got
• 2:51
  taken to court
• 2:53
  and then it got
• 2:54
  shot down.
• 2:55
  Part of it got
• 2:56
  shot down.
• 2:56
  A big part of it
• 2:57
  saying that
• 2:58
  plastic
• 2:58
  isn't toxic.
• 2:59
  And again, we'll
• 2:59
  get into the
• 3:00
  details.
• 3:01
  And then it got
• 3:01
  appealed and now
• 3:02
  we have a ruling,
• 3:03
  which is really
• 3:04
  cool to see and
• 3:05
  be able to talk
• 3:05
  to you about
• 3:06
  and get the
• 3:06
  updates on what
• 3:08
  happens now,
• 3:09
  how things are
• 3:10
  gonna happen,
• 3:10
  enforcement,
• 3:11
  what's gonna
• 3:11
  happen in the
• 3:12
  next part of the
• 3:12
  legal process.
• 3:14
  The other side
• 3:16
  might want to
• 3:17
  appeal, all this
• 3:18
  kind of stuff.
• 3:19
  We're gonna get
• 3:19
  all into that.
• 3:20
  But before we do,
• 3:21
  Anthony,
• 3:21
  why don't you
• 3:22
  just remind the
• 3:23
  people here in
• 3:24
  the audience
• 3:25
  of who you are
• 3:25
  and what you do?
• 3:27
  Yeah, so I'm
• 3:28
  Anthony Morante,
• 3:28
  the senior
• 3:29
  plastics
• 3:29
  campaigner at
• 3:30
  Oceania Canada,
• 3:31
  based in
• 3:32
  Montreal, Quebec,
• 3:34
  and part of
• 3:34
  Oceania,
• 3:35
  which is the
• 3:36
  world's largest
• 3:37
  ocean
• 3:37
  protection focused
• 3:38
  conservation
• 3:39
  organization.
• 3:40
  And that is our
• 3:41
  Canadian branch.
• 3:42
  We exist on the
• 3:44
  East coast, the
• 3:44
  West coast,
• 3:45
  Ottawa, Toronto,
• 3:46
  and Montreal.
• 3:48
  Yeah, you just
• 3:49
  moved to
• 3:49
  Montreal, which
• 3:49
  is
• 3:50
  fantastic to hear.
• 3:51
  What a
• 3:52
  great city.
• 3:52
  It is a, you
• 3:53
  know, my brother
• 3:54
  was born in
• 3:54
  Montreal.
• 3:55
  We've always grew
• 3:55
  up, I grew up in
• 3:56
  Toronto,
• 3:56
  but always loved
• 3:57
  going back to
• 3:58
  Montreal,
• 3:58
  the old city,
• 3:59
  like the downtown
• 4:00
  and everything.
• 4:02
  It's just a cool
• 4:03
  culture to
• 4:04
  be around.
• 4:04
  I love it.
• 4:05
  You went to
• 4:05
  school
• 4:05
  there, right?
• 4:06
  Is that what you
• 4:06
  told me?
• 4:07
  Yeah, yeah.
• 4:07
  I did my master's
• 4:09
  in biology and
• 4:10
  limnology.
• 4:11
  So study of lakes
• 4:12
  and rivers.
• 4:12
  Yeah.
• 4:13
  The University of
• 4:14
  Quebec, Amaliaou,
• 4:15
  and it's been
• 4:17
  dying to come
• 4:17
  back ever since,
• 4:18
  and finally made
• 4:19
  it happen.
• 4:19
  That's fantastic.
• 4:20
  And how is it
• 4:21
  getting, like,
• 4:22
  you have a French
• 4:23
  background, I
• 4:23
  believe.
• 4:24
  Like you, how was
• 4:24
  it getting back
• 4:25
  into it and
• 4:26
  speaking French
• 4:27
  on a more
• 4:27
  regular basis?
• 4:29
  Oh, it's a joy
• 4:30
  for everyone from
• 4:31
  Ontario.
• 4:34
  No, no, I
• 4:35
  love it.
• 4:36
  It's, I think
• 4:37
  we're really
• 4:38
  lucky as people
• 4:39
  that grow up in
• 4:39
  Ontario,
• 4:40
  that we have that
• 4:43
  good base
• 4:43
  of French.
• 4:44
  I think it grew
• 4:45
  up in a really
• 4:45
  good community
• 4:46
  that we had a
• 4:47
  Franco-Ontario,
• 4:48
  Franco-Ontarian
• 4:49
  community just
• 4:49
  next to us.
• 4:51
  Nice, nice.
• 4:51
  We didn't have
• 4:52
  this aversion to
• 4:53
  learning French.
• 4:54
  Right, right.
• 4:56
  It's very
• 4:57
  reminded how as
• 5:00
  intergesting the
• 5:00
  country can be.
• 5:02
  Yeah.
• 5:02
  But if we all
• 5:03
  embrace
• 5:03
  bilingualism.
• 5:04
  Absolutely.
• 5:05
  And when you get
• 5:05
  back, like I've
• 5:06
  lost a lot
• 5:06
  of my French,
• 5:07
  the French
• 5:08
  background, my
• 5:08
  parents were from
• 5:09
  Quebec City.
• 5:10
  And I find like
• 5:10
  when I get back
• 5:11
  and I
• 5:12
  actually try,
• 5:13
  I get that
• 5:14
  vocabulary back
• 5:15
  and it's like, it
• 5:16
  gets easier and
• 5:17
  easier
• 5:17
  and easier.
• 5:18
  And it's ever
• 5:19
  evolving.
• 5:19
  When I, the last
• 5:20
  time I lived here
• 5:21
  was between about
• 5:22
  2012 and 2015.
• 5:26
  And then jumping
• 5:27
  back here, the
• 5:27
  same way that
• 5:28
  English has
• 5:29
  evolved,
• 5:30
  Gen Z and Gen
• 5:32
  Alpha have
• 5:32
  completely
• 5:32
  different
• 5:33
  languages.
• 5:36
  It's the
• 5:36
  same here.
• 5:37
  But my French was
• 5:38
  like a little
• 5:38
  time capsule of
• 5:39
  like 10
• 5:39
  years ago.
• 5:40
  Oh, wow.
• 5:41
  Yeah, so it's
• 5:42
  coming back with
• 5:43
  learning new
• 5:44
  words for
• 5:44
  everything.
• 5:45
  That's
• 5:45
  interesting.
• 5:46
  Very nice.
• 5:46
  I did not know
• 5:47
  that right on.
• 5:47
  Cool.
• 5:48
  Well, let's get
• 5:48
  into the plastic
• 5:49
  talk because like
• 5:50
  folks, I'm just
• 5:50
  going to
• 5:51
  let you know,
• 5:51
  if you don't
• 5:52
  follow, I follow
• 5:52
  you on LinkedIn.
• 5:55
  Your posts are
• 5:55
  amazing.
• 5:56
  I get all my
• 5:56
  updates on
• 5:57
  plastics, you
• 5:58
  know, and just
• 5:59
  especially now
• 6:00
  you've been
• 6:00
  really focused on
• 6:02
  not just this
• 6:03
  part here and the
• 6:04
  plastics treaty,
• 6:05
  but also plastics
• 6:06
  for big events
• 6:08
  and how big
• 6:09
  events are
• 6:10
  turning to
• 6:11
  getting a little
• 6:13
  bit more
• 6:13
  environmentally
• 6:14
  friendly and more
• 6:14
  sustainable.
• 6:16
  Can you just talk
• 6:16
  a little bit
• 6:16
  about that before
• 6:17
  we jump into,
• 6:18
  because it's kind
• 6:18
  of
• 6:18
  related to what
• 6:19
  we're doing here
• 6:20
  in terms of
• 6:21
  talking about
• 6:21
  this, this big,
• 6:22
  this big
• 6:23
  announcement.
• 6:24
  Yeah.
• 6:25
  So I think a good
• 6:25
  way of framing
• 6:25
  this is the
• 6:27
  plastic pollution
• 6:27
  problem,
• 6:28
  plastic waste,
• 6:30
  it's a
• 6:30
  numbers game.
• 6:31
  Yeah.
• 6:31
  Plastic waste
• 6:32
  goes where
• 6:32
  populations are.
• 6:33
  They go from
• 6:34
  these huge
• 6:34
  sources of
• 6:35
  plastic waste,
• 6:36
  things like
• 6:36
  e-commerce,
• 6:37
  restaurants,
• 6:38
  grocery stores.
• 6:40
  Obviously the
• 6:41
  bigger cities are
• 6:42
  the bigger
• 6:42
  producers of
• 6:43
  plastic waste.
• 6:44
  So when I've been
• 6:45
  pushing with
• 6:47
  Oceania for like
• 6:48
  national
• 6:48
  regulation,
• 6:49
  there's also a
• 6:49
  lot of things
• 6:50
  that we can work
• 6:52
  with decision
• 6:53
  makers at much
• 6:54
  smaller levels at
• 6:55
  subnational
• 6:55
  governments,
• 6:56
  municipalities,
• 6:57
  provinces and
• 6:57
  territories, but
• 6:58
  also large
• 7:00
  companies,
• 7:00
  large festivals,
• 7:01
  large events.
• 7:02
  You have to think
• 7:03
  if you just want
• 7:04
  to target what is
• 7:05
  a huge source of
• 7:07
  unnecessary
• 7:07
  single use
• 7:08
  plastic.
• 7:09
  Think about a
• 7:10
  stadium.
• 7:10
  Oh my gosh.
• 7:12
  25 to 50,000
• 7:13
  people. Everyone
• 7:14
  is
• 7:14
  drinking, eating.
• 7:16
  That's generally
• 7:17
  always a single
• 7:18
  use item more
• 7:19
  than often. It's
• 7:20
  a single use
• 7:20
  plastic item.
• 7:21
  And that is a
• 7:22
  system where it's
• 7:23
  truly
• 7:23
  unnecessary. It's
• 7:24
  a closed
• 7:25
  loop system.
• 7:26
  At a restaurant,
• 7:27
  they give you a
• 7:28
  reusable when you
• 7:29
  sit down and eat
• 7:30
  and have a drink.
• 7:31
  Why can't a venue
• 7:32
  like a hockey
• 7:34
  arena, a football
• 7:35
  stadium, a soccer
• 7:36
  pitch be the
• 7:37
  exact same thing?
• 7:39
  Why can't things
• 7:40
  like the Canadian
• 7:40
  national
• 7:41
  exhibition and
• 7:42
  folk festivals
• 7:43
  provide reusables
• 7:44
  and become zero
• 7:45
  waste so that
• 7:46
  fans don't have
• 7:47
  this guilt when
• 7:48
  they see an
• 7:48
  overflowing
• 7:49
  garbage can?
• 7:51
  And really we
• 7:52
  kind of turned
• 7:52
  our attention to
• 7:53
  this because
• 7:53
  globally, a lot
• 7:55
  of other
• 7:56
  countries
• 7:56
  do that.
• 7:57
  They have zero
• 7:58
  waste initiatives
• 7:59
  for their large
• 8:00
  venues
• 8:01
  and events.
• 8:02
  Even in Canada,
• 8:03
  if you look to,
• 8:03
  I'm just going to
• 8:04
  shout out
• 8:04
  Montreal, they've
• 8:05
  been doing this
• 8:05
  for years.
• 8:06
  When you go down
• 8:07
  to the Jazz
• 8:07
  Festival, the
• 8:08
  Feteb Mokko,
• 8:09
  Oceaga, F1, it's
• 8:11
  all reusable.
• 8:12
  There's a very
• 8:14
  limited amount of
• 8:15
  waste that's
• 8:15
  coming out to it.
• 8:16
  And it is just, I
• 8:18
  think it's kind
• 8:19
  of our role as a
• 8:21
  non-for-profit,
• 8:22
  as a charity to
• 8:23
  connect these
• 8:25
  local reuse
• 8:25
  companies that
• 8:26
  are providing
• 8:27
  solutions for
• 8:28
  venue operators,
• 8:29
  for event
• 8:29
  organizers,
• 8:30
  connect them with
• 8:31
  other event
• 8:32
  organizers and
• 8:33
  venue operators
• 8:33
  across the
• 8:34
  country because
• 8:34
  it shouldn't just
• 8:36
  be a solution
• 8:36
  found in Montreal
• 8:38
  or in a small
• 8:40
  suburb like
• 8:41
  Tévonne.
• 8:42
  It should also be
• 8:43
  in Toronto,
• 8:44
  Vancouver,
• 8:45
  Edmonton,
• 8:45
  Calgary, name it,
• 8:46
  it should
• 8:47
  be there.
• 8:47
  Agreed, agreed. I
• 8:48
  love the work.
• 8:49
  It's great. If
• 8:50
  you haven't
• 8:50
  followed Anthony
• 8:51
  on LinkedIn, I
• 8:53
  highly
• 8:53
  recommend you do.
• 8:54
  I'll put, it's
• 8:54
  okay. I'll put
• 8:55
  your link in the
• 8:56
  show notes
• 8:56
  because I think
• 8:57
  it's just, it's
• 8:59
  nice to know that
• 8:59
  people are out
• 9:00
  there fighting
• 9:00
  for that.
• 9:01
  But you also
• 9:02
  provide a lot of
• 9:02
  information on
• 9:03
  how easy it is
• 9:04
  and the, like the
• 9:05
  optimism of event
• 9:06
  venues that are
• 9:07
  actually doing
• 9:08
  reasonable and
• 9:09
  events that are
• 9:09
  doing reasonable
• 9:10
  and sustainable
• 9:11
  materials
• 9:11
  and events.
• 9:13
  So I love that.
• 9:14
  Let's get into
• 9:15
  the
• 9:15
  decision here.
• 9:16
  So why don't we
• 9:17
  just kind of go
• 9:17
  back a couple of
• 9:19
  a few years when
• 9:20
  this law came
• 9:21
  through, give a
• 9:22
  brief description
• 9:22
  of everything
• 9:23
  that's happened.
• 9:24
  And then of
• 9:25
  course we can
• 9:26
  announce the new,
• 9:27
  if anybody
• 9:27
  doesn't know from
• 9:28
  the title, we can
• 9:29
  announce the new
• 9:29
  decision.
• 9:30
  Yeah, for sure.
• 9:31
  So this, oh boy,
• 9:33
  this started back
• 9:34
  in 2021. So we're
• 9:36
  recording
• 9:36
  this in 2026.
• 9:37
  We want to link
• 9:39
  the timeline on
• 9:40
  this. The liberal
• 9:42
  federal
• 9:43
  government under
• 9:44
  Trudeau announced
• 9:46
  that they were
• 9:47
  going to ban
• 9:48
  single use
• 9:49
  plastics.
• 9:49
  The ones that are
• 9:50
  most problematic,
• 9:51
  they preemptively
• 9:52
  named things like
• 9:53
  six pack ring
• 9:54
  carriers,
• 9:55
  styrofoam,
• 9:57
  plastic checkout
• 9:57
  bags, stir
• 9:58
  sticks,
• 9:59
  straws, etc.
• 10:01
  So they did that
• 10:02
  and set this kind
• 10:03
  of market signal.
• 10:04
  You saw large
• 10:06
  businesses start
• 10:06
  acting quite
• 10:07
  quickly in that.
• 10:08
  We saw companies
• 10:09
  like Tim Hortons
• 10:10
  get rid of their
• 10:11
  straws and
• 10:12
  reshape the top
• 10:13
  of their cups to
• 10:14
  not require them.
• 10:15
  You saw companies
• 10:16
  like Loblaws
• 10:17
  start charging
• 10:18
  money for single
• 10:19
  use plastic bags.
• 10:20
  Walmart take them
• 10:20
  out entirely.
• 10:23
  You saw the
• 10:24
  market start
• 10:24
  reacting to a
• 10:26
  signal from the
• 10:28
  top, essentially.
• 10:30
  So to actually
• 10:32
  make good on this public
• 10:33
  commitment, the
• 10:34
  federal
• 10:34
  government looked
• 10:35
  to what legal
• 10:37
  powers do we have
• 10:38
  and they found
• 10:39
  the Canadian
• 10:40
  Environmental
• 10:40
  Protection Act.
• 10:42
  It's usually
• 10:42
  called SEPA,
• 10:43
  C-E-P-A, and they
• 10:46
  went through that
• 10:48
  regulatory
• 10:48
  action. It's an
• 10:49
  act. It's meant
• 10:50
  to protect people
• 10:51
  and the
• 10:52
  environment.
• 10:53
  It is both a
• 10:54
  joint Ministry of
• 10:55
  Health and
• 10:55
  Ministry of
• 10:55
  Environment piece
• 10:56
  of legislation.
• 10:58
  And in it,
• 10:59
  there's a list of
• 11:00
  toxic substances.
• 11:02
  Now, toxic is
• 11:03
  like a kind of
• 11:05
  fiery word for a
• 11:06
  lot of people,
• 11:07
  but simply put,
• 11:10
  it's toxic
• 11:10
  meaning if it
• 11:11
  gets into the
• 11:12
  environment, it
• 11:12
  poses the risk of
• 11:14
  causing harm.
• 11:15
  Right.
• 11:16
  There is a list
• 11:17
  under SEPA under
• 11:18
  this toxic
• 11:19
  substance list
• 11:19
  called Schedule
• 11:20
  1. And there is a
• 11:22
  myriad of
• 11:23
  different things
• 11:24
  under there.
• 11:24
  There's arsenic,
• 11:25
  carbon,
• 11:26
  microbeads, lead.
• 11:28
  And by putting
• 11:29
  something under
• 11:30
  that Schedule 1,
• 11:31
  that toxic
• 11:32
  substance list,
• 11:33
  it allows the
• 11:34
  government to
• 11:34
  then start
• 11:35
  passing
• 11:35
  regulations to
• 11:36
  target large
• 11:37
  businesses,
• 11:39
  products, etc.
• 11:40
  And that's why it's called SEPA,
• 11:41
  which is a way in
• 11:41
  which that toxic
• 11:42
  substance is
• 11:43
  getting into the
• 11:44
  environment.
• 11:45
  A really good
• 11:45
  example of this
• 11:46
  is they said
• 11:47
  microbeads are on
• 11:49
  the list and then
• 11:50
  they banned
• 11:50
  subsequent
• 11:51
  regulation, plastic
• 11:53
  microbeads from
• 11:54
  personal care and
• 11:55
  beauty cosmetics.
• 11:56
  They added lead
• 11:57
  to the list.
• 11:58
  That's why you
• 11:59
  have unleaded
• 12:00
  paint. That's why
• 12:01
  you have unleaded
• 12:02
  diesel gasoline.
• 12:03
  Yeah.
• 12:04
  So when they
• 12:05
  said, what do we
• 12:06
  put on this list
• 12:07
  in order to fight
• 12:08
  plastic
• 12:08
  pollution, they
• 12:10
  could have put
• 12:11
  one item, a
• 12:12
  plastic bottle, a
• 12:13
  plastic bag.
• 12:15
  But the reality
• 12:15
  is plastics are
• 12:17
  everywhere.
• 12:18
  They're evolving
• 12:19
  all of the time.
• 12:20
  They vary so
• 12:21
  highly in resin
• 12:22
  type, polymer,
• 12:24
  color, additives,
• 12:25
  function, shape,
• 12:27
  purpose,
• 12:29
  everything.
• 12:29
  Yeah.
• 12:30
  Polyethylene and
• 12:31
  polypropylene
• 12:32
  don't just exist
• 12:33
  as a fork. They
• 12:35
  exist as part of
• 12:36
  a car. They exist
• 12:37
  as your screen.
• 12:38
  It's like they're
• 12:39
  everywhere.
• 12:39
  Right.
• 12:40
  Like this shirt
• 12:41
  is probably
• 12:41
  polyester. Yes,
• 12:42
  it's actually
• 12:43
  not. It's cotton.
• 12:46
  But most people
• 12:47
  have polyester,
• 12:48
  polyester blends
• 12:49
  and plastic is
• 12:51
  everywhere. So
• 12:52
  because of the
• 12:53
  vast broadness of
• 12:55
  plastics and its
• 12:56
  high utility, the
• 12:58
  fact that it's
• 12:58
  always evolving,
• 12:59
  they
• 12:59
  simply list it.
• 13:01
  They added plastic
• 13:01
  manufactured
• 13:01
  items. And when I
• 13:03
  say simply, I
• 13:04
  don't mean that
• 13:04
  they just picked
• 13:05
  it willy nilly.
• 13:06
  There is a
• 13:06
  massive science
• 13:07
  assessment that
• 13:07
  came with it.
• 13:08
  Okay.
• 13:09
  Decades of
• 13:10
  research, really
• 13:11
  creating a solid
• 13:12
  legal foundation
• 13:13
  as to why they
• 13:14
  have to list so
• 13:14
  broadly. They
• 13:16
  added that list
• 13:16
  in 2021.
• 13:18
  And then
• 13:18
  subsequently in
• 13:19
  2022, that is
• 13:21
  when the first
• 13:21
  regulation came
• 13:23
  out of that. That
• 13:24
  was the single
• 13:24
  use plastic ban.
• 13:25
  The official
• 13:26
  title is the
• 13:26
  prohibition on
• 13:28
  single use
• 13:28
  plastic products.
• 13:30
  And they listed
• 13:30
  six products
• 13:31
  under there. So
• 13:33
  that was us in
• 13:34
  2022 and almost
• 13:35
  immediately you
• 13:37
  kind of got the
• 13:38
  guards that from
• 13:39
  the I'll call
• 13:41
  them big plastic
• 13:42
  with the largest
• 13:42
  plastic companies
• 13:43
  and also the
• 13:44
  largest oil and
• 13:45
  gas and
• 13:45
  petrochemical
• 13:46
  companies.
• 13:47
  Right.
• 14:01
  And then they
• 14:02
  were joined by
• 14:04
  the provinces of
• 14:04
  Alberta and
• 14:05
  Saskatchewan, as
• 14:06
  well as the
• 14:07
  American
• 14:08
  petrochemical
• 14:08
  companies, the American chemistry council.
• 14:10
  A lot of
• 14:13
  international
• 14:14
  interveners and
• 14:15
  brought forward
• 14:16
  two legal
• 14:17
  challenges to the
• 14:17
  government in
• 14:18
  2022. They
• 14:19
  brought forward a
• 14:20
  challenge on that
• 14:20
  listing itself,
• 14:22
  the very
• 14:22
  foundation that
• 14:23
  the government
• 14:23
  could act to
• 14:25
  fight plastic
• 14:25
  pollution. And
• 14:26
  then they also
• 14:26
  challenged the
• 14:27
  ban directly.
• 14:29
  Now, the court
• 14:31
  said, you can't
• 14:33
  do everything at
• 14:33
  once, pick one or
• 14:34
  the other. The
• 14:35
  court's
• 14:35
  essentially
• 14:35
  triage and said,
• 14:37
  let's start with
• 14:37
  your legal
• 14:38
  challenge against
• 14:38
  the foundation,
• 14:39
  that listing of
• 14:40
  plastic plastics
• 14:41
  or plastics
• 14:42
  plastics under
• 14:43
  the toxic
• 14:44
  substance list
• 14:44
  under SIPA.
• 14:46
  And then this
• 14:47
  started what is
• 14:48
  now known as our
• 14:49
  three plus
• 14:51
  year. Yeah.
• 14:53
  The court said we
• 14:55
  will hear your
• 14:55
  trial. You can
• 14:57
  you can take this
• 14:58
  to the federal
• 14:58
  court in downtown
• 15:00
  Toronto. We can
• 15:01
  hear from the
• 15:03
  federal
• 15:03
  government. We
• 15:04
  can hear from the
• 15:04
  plastic industry
• 15:06
  about why you
• 15:07
  think this is
• 15:08
  sound or if this
• 15:09
  was an
• 15:09
  overreach, etc.
• 15:11
  And while that
• 15:12
  legal battle was
• 15:12
  happening, all
• 15:14
  the regulations,
• 15:15
  all the laws,
• 15:16
  they'll stay in
• 15:16
  place. Okay. And
• 15:18
  you saw
• 15:19
  industries shift.
• 15:20
  Yep. We saw
• 15:21
  checkup bags get
• 15:22
  out of stores. We
• 15:23
  saw six pack ring
• 15:23
  carriers come
• 15:24
  off. We saw
• 15:25
  single use
• 15:26
  plastic
• 15:26
  utensils gone.
• 15:29
  We haven't seen a
• 15:29
  plastic clamshell
• 15:30
  in a very long
• 15:31
  time, nor have
• 15:32
  you seen a
• 15:32
  plastic styrofoam
• 15:34
  clamshell in a
• 15:35
  long time and
• 15:36
  they haven't seen
• 15:36
  a styrofoam
• 15:37
  coffee cup. Yeah,
• 15:38
  time industry
• 15:40
  shifted, they
• 15:41
  reacted, they
• 15:42
  followed the law,
• 15:43
  they were
• 15:43
  compliant and
• 15:45
  hey, it worked.
• 15:47
  You do not see
• 15:48
  styrofoam cups on
• 15:49
  the side of the
• 15:50
  road or at the
• 15:51
  beach or
• 15:51
  floating. You do
• 15:52
  not see plastic
• 15:53
  checkout bags
• 15:54
  stuck up in trees
• 15:55
  that used to be
• 15:56
  so frustrating.
• 15:58
  You do still see
• 16:00
  a lot of plastic.
• 16:01
  Yes. Yeah, but
• 16:02
  the things that
• 16:03
  they banned don't
• 16:04
  show up in the
• 16:05
  environment
• 16:05
  nearly as often
• 16:06
  as they used to.
• 16:07
  Right. So we saw
• 16:09
  that it was
• 16:09
  working, which
• 16:10
  was really great
• 16:11
  to see going into
• 16:12
  that trial
• 16:13
  because it works.
• 16:16
  And groups like
• 16:16
  Oceania and Environmental
• 16:17
  Defense, we
• 16:18
  actually joined
• 16:19
  the trial. We
• 16:20
  supported the
• 16:20
  federal
• 16:21
  government. They
• 16:22
  heard that.
• 16:24
  If I can, I want
• 16:26
  to say March.
• 16:28
  Yeah. 2023 I
• 16:30
  think that's when
• 16:30
  we went to court
• 16:31
  for the first
• 16:32
  time, three day
• 16:33
  trial, really,
• 16:34
  really
• 16:35
  interesting stuff
• 16:35
  in the
• 16:37
  federal court.
• 16:38
  And then once all
• 16:39
  the arguments
• 16:40
  were made there,
• 16:41
  mainly there were
• 16:41
  questions about
• 16:42
  jurisdictional
• 16:44
  overreach,
• 16:45
  plastic waste
• 16:46
  being a
• 16:47
  provincial
• 16:47
  problem, not a
• 16:49
  national problem.
• 16:51
  Questions about
• 16:52
  constitutionality.
• 16:53
  You listed far
• 16:54
  too broadly. It's
• 16:55
  giving the
• 16:56
  government way
• 16:56
  too much power.
• 16:57
  Right. Plastics
• 16:58
  are a massive
• 16:58
  economy. Sounds
• 16:59
  like an Alberta
• 17:00
  thing. Like an
• 17:01
  Alberta argument.
• 17:03
  It's the idea
• 17:04
  that you also
• 17:05
  have to remember
• 17:05
  that these laws
• 17:06
  are put in place,
• 17:08
  not for one
• 17:09
  government in
• 17:09
  particular. It's
• 17:10
  the government's
• 17:11
  could change over
• 17:11
  and it's it's a
• 17:13
  valid argument to
• 17:14
  say, are we
• 17:15
  giving a
• 17:16
  government too
• 17:17
  much power on an
• 17:18
  industry that is
• 17:19
  so money.
• 17:21
  It provides so
• 17:22
  much drive to the
• 17:24
  economy,
• 17:24
  etc, etc.
• 17:27
  Those were
• 17:27
  hurting court. It
• 17:28
  took about March
• 17:30
  till November.
• 17:32
  The court took
• 17:33
  that back,
• 17:33
  thought about it,
• 17:34
  came up with a
• 17:35
  decision and they
• 17:37
  sided with the
• 17:38
  plastics
• 17:38
  industry. They
• 17:39
  said the
• 17:39
  government did an
• 17:40
  overreach. They
• 17:41
  listed way too
• 17:42
  broadly.
• 17:43
  This is not their
• 17:44
  battle to pick.
• 17:45
  This should have
• 17:46
  been something
• 17:46
  that businesses
• 17:47
  in the province
• 17:48
  took over.
• 17:49
  Obviously, that
• 17:50
  was very
• 17:50
  disappointing.
• 17:51
  Yeah, I remember
• 17:52
  having you on for
• 17:52
  that. Yeah, yeah.
• 17:55
  It was a not a
• 17:56
  not a blue sky a
• 17:59
  day for the environmental
• 18:00
  sector for sure.
• 18:02
  Also, I have to
• 18:02
  admit, like it's
• 18:03
  probably not
• 18:04
  great for
• 18:04
  businesses that
• 18:05
  made that huge
• 18:06
  investment in
• 18:06
  transitioning
• 18:07
  away from single
• 18:08
  use plastic.
• 18:08
  Yeah, that is a
• 18:09
  huge slap in the
• 18:11
  face to
• 18:11
  regulatory
• 18:13
  certainty clarity
• 18:14
  on where they
• 18:15
  should be
• 18:15
  investing and
• 18:16
  putting their
• 18:17
  time and
• 18:17
  money into.
• 18:18
  So the government
• 18:20
  of Canada at that
• 18:21
  time did not
• 18:23
  agree with the
• 18:24
  federal court.
• 18:25
  Neither did
• 18:26
  Oceana or the
• 18:27
  other intervening
• 18:28
  environmental
• 18:29
  groups and we
• 18:30
  took that to the
• 18:31
  federal court of
• 18:31
  appeal. The
• 18:32
  federal court of
• 18:33
  appeal said yes,
• 18:34
  this is a very
• 18:35
  important issue.
• 18:36
  We will
• 18:36
  hear the case.
• 19:03
  But the government of Canada at that time did not agree with the federal court of appeal.
• 19:06
  So the government of Canada at that
• 19:06
  time came to the
• 19:07
  environmental
• 19:09
  side of the
• 19:10
  argument. The
• 19:11
  groups that were
• 19:12
  supporting the
• 19:12
  federal
• 19:13
  government that
• 19:13
  grew
• 19:14
  significantly.
• 19:15
  Right. So now
• 19:16
  we're jumping
• 19:17
  into 2024. We
• 19:19
  have support for
• 19:20
  the federal
• 19:21
  government coming
• 19:21
  from the province
• 19:22
  of British
• 19:23
  Columbia, which
• 19:24
  is really
• 19:25
  important for the
• 19:26
  counter
• 19:26
  argument from
• 19:30
  the federal government. And
• 19:30
  as British
• 19:30
  Columbia is out
• 19:31
  here saying, No,
• 19:33
  this is a huge
• 19:34
  problem. It is
• 19:35
  overwhelming
• 19:36
  provincial
• 19:37
  systems. We need
• 19:38
  help from other
• 19:40
  levels of
• 19:40
  government in
• 19:41
  this. This is a
• 19:43
  huge problem and
• 19:44
  the data is
• 19:45
  clear. We're not
• 19:46
  handling this
• 19:46
  correctly.
• 19:48
  There's too many
• 19:48
  things on the
• 19:48
  market that our
• 19:49
  provincial
• 19:50
  jurisdiction
• 19:50
  can't stop from
• 19:52
  getting on there.
• 19:52
  We need how
• 19:53
  interesting and
• 19:53
  we need
• 19:54
  cooperation with
• 19:55
  the federal
• 19:55
  government.
• 19:57
  So when it looks
• 19:57
  to the other
• 19:59
  intervening
• 19:59
  environmental
• 20:00
  groups, you had
• 20:01
  Davis Azuki
• 20:02
  Foundation join
• 20:03
  you had
• 20:03
  Greenpeace join
• 20:04
  you had the
• 20:05
  Canadian
• 20:05
  Association of
• 20:06
  Physicians for
• 20:07
  the Environment,
• 20:08
  which was really
• 20:09
  important because
• 20:10
  in that time
• 20:11
  since the first
• 20:11
  trial, lots of
• 20:13
  new research
• 20:14
  coming out about
• 20:14
  the implications
• 20:15
  of micro plastics
• 20:17
  and plastic
• 20:17
  pollution on
• 20:18
  human health as
• 20:19
  well as the
• 20:19
  chemicals within
• 20:20
  plastics.
• 20:22
  And so that was really important
• 20:22
  there. And you
• 20:23
  had additional
• 20:24
  animal rights
• 20:25
  groups joined to
• 20:26
  really underscore
• 20:27
  encounter one of
• 20:30
  the strong
• 20:30
  arguments that
• 20:31
  was coming from
• 20:32
  the plastics
• 20:32
  industry. They
• 20:33
  said, you
• 20:34
  actually need to
• 20:35
  test how much
• 20:36
  plastic animals
• 20:38
  can handle before
• 20:39
  they start
• 20:39
  suffering.
• 20:41
  And animal rights
• 20:43
  groups, animal
• 20:44
  justice in
• 20:44
  particular, it's
• 20:45
  very clear that
• 20:46
  you're then
• 20:47
  asking to see how
• 20:51
  many forks can
• 20:52
  this sea otter
• 20:53
  swallow before it
• 20:54
  starts to feel
• 20:54
  pain. I don't
• 20:55
  know if that's an
• 20:56
  ethical. That's
• 20:57
  awful. That's
• 20:58
  torture for sea
• 20:59
  otters. Yeah.
• 21:01
  It's a valid
• 21:02
  counter argument.
• 21:03
  Yeah. So we had
• 21:04
  this good
• 21:04
  coalition come
• 21:05
  over and
• 21:06
  supported the
• 21:07
  federal
• 21:07
  government that
• 21:08
  was heard back in
• 21:09
  June of 2024.
• 21:12
  And since June,
• 21:13
  since June of
• 21:14
  2024, they were
• 21:16
  holding up for a
• 21:16
  decision and that
• 21:17
  finally came to
• 21:19
  Fridays ago, just
• 21:19
  the end of
• 21:21
  January. So we
• 21:22
  had a unanimous
• 21:24
  decision. So the
• 21:25
  difference
• 21:26
  between the
• 21:26
  federal court and
• 21:27
  the federal court
• 21:27
  of appeal is that
• 21:29
  the federal court
• 21:29
  is a singular
• 21:30
  judge making a
• 21:30
  decision.
• 21:31
  The federal court
• 21:32
  of appeal is a
• 21:33
  panel of three
• 21:33
  judges. Yeah. And
• 21:36
  those three
• 21:36
  judges, they
• 21:38
  definitely took
• 21:39
  their time. They
• 21:40
  were very
• 21:40
  methodical going
• 21:41
  through the
• 21:42
  arguments going
• 21:42
  through the
• 21:43
  questions raised
• 21:44
  in court going
• 21:45
  through the
• 21:45
  constitutional
• 21:46
  power of the
• 21:47
  overreach.
• 21:49
  Did this a
• 21:49
  national crisis?
• 21:50
  Did they act
• 21:51
  correctly in
• 21:53
  listing plastics
• 21:54
  and is this their
• 21:55
  fight to fight
• 21:55
  for the federal
• 21:56
  government? And
• 21:58
  the decision was,
• 22:00
  I mean, I am not
• 22:02
  a lawyer. I
• 22:03
  haven't read that
• 22:04
  many legal
• 22:05
  decisions from
• 22:06
  the federal court
• 22:06
  of deal.
• 22:07
  This was a very,
• 22:08
  very well
• 22:10
  written. Anyone
• 22:12
  to give it a good
• 22:13
  read. It's very
• 22:15
  pointed. It goes
• 22:16
  through each
• 22:17
  argument and it
• 22:18
  really tries to
• 22:20
  try. I read it as
• 22:22
  it's driving the
• 22:23
  message home that
• 22:24
  plastic pollution
• 22:26
  is a national
• 22:27
  crisis. Yeah.
• 22:29
  And we should not
• 22:29
  have to wait
• 22:30
  until the
• 22:30
  environment is so
• 22:31
  far degraded that
• 22:33
  it can't be
• 22:33
  repaired in order
• 22:34
  to act
• 22:34
  proactively to
• 22:35
  try to protect
• 22:36
  it. Makes sense.
• 22:38
  I made a lot of
• 22:39
  arguments that if
• 22:40
  we were to test
• 22:42
  how much
• 22:43
  suffering an
• 22:43
  animal can do, it
• 22:44
  is both
• 22:44
  reprehensible and
• 22:46
  unethical and no
• 22:47
  government should
• 22:47
  ever do
• 22:48
  that. Right.
• 22:49
  And I think that's a very, very strong
• 22:49
  argument. And
• 22:51
  they brought up
• 22:52
  the, I think,
• 22:54
  very real
• 22:55
  understanding and
• 22:55
  practical
• 22:56
  understanding of
• 22:57
  the plastics
• 22:57
  industry is that
• 22:58
  it is rapidly
• 22:59
  evolving. It's
• 23:00
  rapidly changing
• 23:01
  and a lot of the
• 23:02
  pollution and
• 23:02
  damages that
• 23:03
  we're seeing now,
• 23:04
  micro plastics,
• 23:05
  things that you
• 23:06
  can't identify
• 23:07
  where it
• 23:07
  came from.
• 23:09
  And this argument
• 23:09
  that not all
• 23:10
  plastics have the
• 23:11
  potential to
• 23:12
  cause harm. It's
• 23:13
  really hard to
• 23:14
  argue because
• 23:14
  there's plastic
• 23:15
  in our water or
• 23:16
  air or blood. It
• 23:17
  is the stomachs
• 23:19
  of whales. It's
• 23:20
  around the necks
• 23:20
  of
• 23:20
  seabirds. Yeah.
• 23:22
  Long as you were
• 23:23
  trying to try to
• 23:24
  make the argument
• 23:24
  that like a car's
• 23:27
  bumper doesn't
• 23:27
  cause pollution,
• 23:29
  you can easily
• 23:29
  find a car at the
• 23:30
  bottom of a lake
• 23:31
  or a river.
• 23:32
  Right. That's it.
• 23:33
  Plastic has
• 23:34
  invaded. Yeah.
• 23:36
  And that's where
• 23:42
  we're at right
• 23:43
  now. We have a
• 23:44
  newly elected
• 23:45
  liberal
• 23:46
  government led by
• 23:48
  Mark Carney. We
• 23:49
  have a new
• 23:49
  environment
• 23:50
  minister Julie De
• 23:51
  Bruisin. And we
• 23:53
  have a renewed
• 23:54
  and affirmed
• 23:55
  power for the
• 23:55
  federal
• 23:56
  government to act
• 23:57
  on fighting
• 23:57
  plastic
• 23:58
  pollution. There
• 23:59
  are a series of
• 24:01
  regulations and
• 24:02
  pollution
• 24:02
  prevention plans
• 24:03
  and legal
• 24:04
  instruments.
• 24:05
  The government
• 24:05
  has now in its
• 24:07
  pocket and we are
• 24:09
  waiting to see if
• 24:10
  they will use
• 24:11
  them. But as of
• 24:13
  today, the
• 24:14
  government has
• 24:14
  the ability to
• 24:15
  regulate
• 24:16
  plastics. They
• 24:17
  have one law
• 24:18
  regulation. Yeah.
• 24:19
  On the books and
• 24:20
  that is the
• 24:20
  single use
• 24:21
  plastic ban. And
• 24:22
  I'm hopeful that
• 24:25
  this government
• 24:26
  will take the
• 24:27
  crisis of plastic
• 24:27
  pollution quite
• 24:28
  seriously because
• 24:29
  it affects
• 24:30
  everything at
• 24:31
  this point.
• 24:32
  And I think every
• 24:32
  day we're
• 24:32
  learning a new
• 24:33
  damage that it
• 24:34
  causes. Yeah,
• 24:36
  absolutely. We'll
• 24:36
  see some action.
• 24:38
  Thank you so much
• 24:39
  for that because
• 24:39
  it's a great, it
• 24:41
  was a great
• 24:42
  summary of what's
• 24:43
  happened all of
• 24:44
  today. I mean,
• 24:45
  it's been very
• 24:46
  slow moving, you
• 24:47
  know, over these
• 24:48
  last three years
• 24:49
  since the appeal
• 24:50
  or since the
• 24:52
  decision and then
• 24:53
  the appeal
• 24:54
  waiting for this
• 24:55
  decision. But it
• 24:55
  seems like it was
• 24:57
  worth the wait,
• 24:58
  you know, in
• 24:59
  terms of like the
• 24:59
  ban kept in.
• 25:01
  May not have been
• 25:01
  enforced as well
• 25:02
  as we would have
• 25:03
  liked because you
• 25:04
  know, they didn't
• 25:04
  want to make too
• 25:05
  much of a big
• 25:06
  deal about it.
• 25:07
  But now that the
• 25:08
  decision has been
• 25:08
  made this
• 25:10
  regulation that
• 25:11
  they've come up
• 25:11
  with with I think
• 25:12
  it's like six
• 25:13
  different types
• 25:14
  of plastics. I
• 25:15
  believe you have
• 25:15
  single use
• 25:16
  plastics and like
• 25:17
  you said, it's
• 25:18
  it's in its very
• 25:19
  basic form right
• 25:20
  in terms of like
• 25:21
  the polyethylene
• 25:22
  and there's all
• 25:22
  these different
• 25:23
  names. They're
• 25:23
  very complicated
• 25:24
  names for a lot
• 25:25
  of people
• 25:25
  to read.
• 25:27
  So what is the
• 25:28
  direction now or
• 25:29
  even before as
• 25:30
  this was rolled
• 25:31
  out, as you
• 25:31
  mentioned,
• 25:31
  there's a lot
• 25:32
  there are a lot
• 25:32
  of businesses who
• 25:33
  have incorporated
• 25:34
  this already in
• 25:35
  their in their
• 25:36
  business because
• 25:36
  when it got
• 25:37
  rolled out, they
• 25:38
  had to there were
• 25:38
  certain ones that
• 25:39
  they had to do at
• 25:40
  certain times of
• 25:41
  the year and
• 25:41
  there was a phase
• 25:42
  out approach.
• 25:43
  And we see a lot
• 25:44
  of it. I don't
• 25:45
  see any of your I
• 25:46
  don't see the
• 25:46
  styrofoam
• 25:47
  clamshells. I
• 25:48
  don't see the
• 25:48
  styrofoam cups.
• 25:49
  Those are pretty
• 25:49
  much gone. I do
• 25:51
  see plastic
• 25:51
  forks. I do see
• 25:52
  like plastic sing
• 25:54
  like a single use
• 25:55
  plastic takeout
• 25:56
  containers and
• 25:57
  things like that.
• 25:58
  I see lots
• 25:59
  of those.
• 26:00
  What is the the
• 26:02
  rollout now that
• 26:03
  businesses should
• 26:04
  be ready for and
• 26:06
  and do you think
• 26:07
  there'll be I
• 26:08
  know it may be
• 26:09
  difficult for you
• 26:09
  to answer because
• 26:10
  you're not part
• 26:11
  of the government
• 26:11
  but what is the
• 26:13
  enforcement that
• 26:14
  happens in this
• 26:16
  part? So let's
• 26:16
  first start like
• 26:17
  what's the
• 26:17
  rollout now?
• 26:18
  Like, is there a
• 26:18
  new national
• 26:19
  rollout that
• 26:20
  business have to
• 26:21
  look at? How does
• 26:22
  the business
• 26:22
  navigate this? I
• 26:23
  guess is what if
• 26:24
  they haven't
• 26:24
  already done so.
• 26:26
  Yeah, so one of
• 26:27
  the I would say
• 26:29
  if you're a
• 26:29
  business listen
• 26:30
  listening to
• 26:31
  this. It's not
• 26:33
  like an
• 26:34
  environment
• 26:34
  climate change.
• 26:35
  Canada officer is
• 26:37
  going to write
• 26:38
  your store flip a
• 26:40
  little notepad.
• 26:41
  Right. What is I
• 26:47
  think likely
• 26:48
  going to happen
• 26:48
  and again, this
• 26:50
  this is a first
• 26:51
  of its kind
• 26:52
  regulation. So
• 26:53
  I'm sure the
• 26:54
  government and
• 26:54
  businesses are
• 26:55
  learning at this
• 26:56
  in concert. If
• 26:58
  you are a large
• 26:59
  purchaser
• 27:00
  contributor
• 27:01
  distributor of
• 27:02
  single use
• 27:03
  plastics, I would
• 27:04
  I would get those
• 27:06
  out of your
• 27:07
  business line
• 27:08
  right now.
• 27:09
  Yeah, if you are
• 27:10
  putting a target
• 27:11
  on your back,
• 27:13
  it's something
• 27:13
  that Canadians
• 27:14
  are passionate
• 27:15
  about, right?
• 27:16
  When we pull
• 27:17
  Canadians across
• 27:18
  the country, it
• 27:19
  never goes below
• 27:20
  80% for support
• 27:22
  in banning the
• 27:23
  sale
• 27:23
  manufacturing and
• 27:24
  distribution of
• 27:25
  single use
• 27:25
  plastics.
• 27:27
  Canadians,
• 27:27
  they've seen the
• 27:28
  alternatives.
• 27:29
  They've seen the
• 27:29
  benefits. They
• 27:30
  don't want
• 27:31
  it. Right.
• 27:31
  And I'm talking
• 27:32
  like across the
• 27:33
  board. This is
• 27:33
  not just like a
• 27:34
  handful of
• 27:34
  people. This is
• 27:35
  like, no, we're
• 27:36
  from different
• 27:36
  thousands of
• 27:37
  people using a
• 27:38
  non biased
• 27:39
  polling agency.
• 27:41
  We keep
• 27:42
  everything very
• 27:43
  public and
• 27:44
  transparent.
• 27:44
  Right.
• 27:45
  We keep these
• 27:45
  pulling data and
• 27:47
  it's very, it's
• 27:48
  very clear, no
• 27:49
  matter the
• 27:49
  province, age,
• 27:51
  gender, voting
• 27:52
  affiliation or
• 27:53
  past voting
• 27:54
  history. People
• 27:55
  do not like
• 27:55
  single single use
• 27:56
  plastics people
• 27:57
  don't like
• 27:57
  litter. Yeah,
• 27:59
  yeah, for sure.
• 28:01
  It's a very basic
• 28:01
  thing. People
• 28:02
  like a clean
• 28:03
  environment. They
• 28:04
  like a clean
• 28:04
  home. They don't
• 28:05
  like litter and
• 28:06
  single use
• 28:06
  plastics.
• 28:07
  Everyone is very
• 28:07
  aware that, oh,
• 28:09
  it uses for three
• 28:10
  seconds or for
• 28:11
  the five minute
• 28:12
  walk from the
• 28:12
  store to my car
• 28:14
  to the bus.
• 28:15
  And then this
• 28:16
  piece of garbage
• 28:17
  that never gets
• 28:18
  recycled is going
• 28:19
  to either go to a
• 28:20
  landfill where
• 28:21
  it's going to
• 28:21
  outlive three
• 28:23
  generations
• 28:24
  past me.
• 28:26
  And it's going to
• 28:27
  pollute the
• 28:27
  environment or
• 28:28
  potentially get
• 28:28
  into the stomach.
• 28:29
  So the stomach of
• 28:30
  an animal I love
• 28:31
  or it's going to
• 28:32
  ruin the natural
• 28:33
  environment
• 28:33
  around me. Yeah.
• 28:34
  Like walking down
• 28:35
  the shoreline
• 28:36
  without seeing
• 28:36
  garbage on my
• 28:37
  feet. So people
• 28:40
  do not want this
• 28:41
  businesses
• 28:42
  finally with this
• 28:43
  decision have
• 28:44
  clarity. Yeah, I
• 28:46
  think like that's
• 28:47
  that's the
• 28:47
  biggest thing
• 28:47
  anyone
• 28:48
  can ask for.
• 28:50
  I think like when I started investing in my
• 28:51
  my supply chain
• 28:52
  and rejigging the
• 28:54
  products I put
• 28:54
  out and how I
• 28:55
  interacted with
• 28:56
  my customers.
• 28:57
  This is clear. Do
• 28:59
  not provide them
• 29:00
  with single use
• 29:00
  plastic right
• 29:01
  now. That does
• 29:02
  not mean all
• 29:04
  plastics are
• 29:04
  banned. Right.
• 29:06
  All single use
• 29:06
  plastics are
• 29:07
  banned. You said
• 29:08
  before there are
• 29:09
  single use
• 29:09
  plastic take
• 29:10
  containers. Those
• 29:11
  are still legal.
• 29:12
  There are many
• 29:13
  that aren't. Yes.
• 29:15
  Any of them have
• 29:15
  black plastic.
• 29:17
  That's illegal
• 29:17
  because that
• 29:18
  never gets
• 29:18
  recycled.
• 29:20
  Any of them that
• 29:20
  are made of
• 29:21
  polystyrene
• 29:22
  styrofoam. Those
• 29:23
  are illegal.
• 29:24
  Right. Do not get
• 29:25
  recycled. Those
• 29:25
  are pure litter.
• 29:26
  So if you're a
• 29:27
  business that is
• 29:28
  doing large
• 29:29
  purchasing
• 29:29
  importing review
• 29:31
  the regulation.
• 29:32
  Read it
• 29:33
  carefully. Have a
• 29:34
  lawyer look at
• 29:35
  it. Look at the
• 29:35
  products that you
• 29:36
  sell. Consult
• 29:38
  with them. Yeah.
• 29:39
  If anything reach
• 29:40
  out to
• 29:41
  environment
• 29:41
  climate change
• 29:42
  Canada. Yeah.
• 29:43
  They'll help you.
• 29:48
  I think that's
• 29:49
  their preferred
• 29:50
  option versus
• 29:51
  enforcement. But
• 29:52
  this is the thing
• 29:53
  you have
• 29:54
  Canadians around
• 29:55
  this country and
• 29:56
  every corner of
• 29:57
  town that hates
• 29:58
  English plastic.
• 29:58
  I wouldn't want
• 30:00
  to annoy that
• 30:01
  local citizen
• 30:02
  that all they're
• 30:03
  going to want to
• 30:03
  do is put you on blast because you're breaking the law and now it is breaking the law. Absolutely. Now as a consumer like as an individual because we have a lot of individuals here.
• 30:04
  Canadian American
• 30:14
  and so forth. But
• 30:15
  as a Canadian
• 30:15
  individual who is
• 30:17
  trying to like I
• 30:18
  want to go to
• 30:18
  places and I want
• 30:19
  to support places
• 30:20
  who use the right
• 30:21
  materials who
• 30:22
  used like who are
• 30:23
  not using the
• 30:24
  wrong materials.
• 30:25
  Again, it can be
• 30:26
  a little
• 30:26
  confusing. You know you you want to make sure that you're doing it right. You're not calling it a business for for something bad. Are you having a problem with it? Have you been using it for a long time and you're not doing it for a long time.
• 30:28
  you know, you
• 30:28
  want to make sure
• 30:29
  that you're doing
• 30:30
  it right.
• 30:30
  You're not
• 30:31
  calling out a
• 30:31
  business for
• 30:32
  something bad.
• 30:33
  You're having
• 30:33
  that
• 30:34
  conversation.
• 30:35
  How would you,
• 30:36
  what advice would
• 30:37
  you give?
• 30:37
  Cause you've
• 30:38
  done it too.
• 30:38
  Like you, I know
• 30:39
  you monitor
• 30:41
  these places.
• 30:41
  Sometimes you
• 30:42
  call people out
• 30:43
  on social media
• 30:43
  and sometimes
• 30:44
  you're like, hey,
• 30:45
  like this is
• 30:45
  really great.
• 30:46
  This is a great
• 30:46
  example of
• 30:47
  sustainable use.
• 30:48
  What advice would
• 30:49
  you give based on
• 30:50
  your experience
• 30:51
  and all the stuff
• 30:52
  that you know,
• 30:53
  for like someone
• 30:54
  like myself or
• 30:54
  anybody
• 30:55
  like my family.
• 30:56
  When we go into a
• 30:56
  place to
• 30:57
  make sure
• 30:57
  that they are
• 30:58
  following the
• 30:58
  regulations.
• 31:00
  So I would
• 31:00
  immediately put
• 31:01
  them into two
• 31:01
  categories.
• 31:02
  Are you a large
• 31:03
  multinational
• 31:03
  corporation
• 31:05
  or are you a
• 31:06
  small mom and
• 31:06
  pop? Right.
• 31:08
  Remember when I
• 31:08
  would I think it
• 31:11
  is very unfair
• 31:11
  to treat those
• 31:12
  two things as
• 31:12
  equals or not.
• 31:14
  So as you've
• 31:16
  mentioned, I have
• 31:18
  publicly called
• 31:18
  out company.
• 31:21
  Yeah, my reason
• 31:22
  there are large
• 31:23
  fast food chains
• 31:24
  and large cinema
• 31:25
  enterprises.
• 31:28
  Yeah, that
• 31:29
  currently have
• 31:30
  banned illegal
• 31:31
  single-use
• 31:32
  plastics
• 31:33
  for sale at their
• 31:34
  operations.
• 31:35
  And now that this
• 31:35
  decision is
• 31:37
  affirmed with the
• 31:39
  federal court
• 31:39
  of appeal. Yeah,
• 31:41
  I would say the
• 31:42
  best way to grab
• 31:43
  the attention
• 31:44
  for compliance
• 31:44
  with the law of
• 31:46
  large
• 31:46
  multinational
• 31:47
  corporations.
• 31:49
  Public yeah,
• 31:51
  accountability.
• 31:51
  Yeah, this used
• 31:53
  to be one of the
• 31:54
  best utilities
• 31:56
  and uses of
• 31:58
  Twitter back in
• 31:59
  the day.
• 32:00
  Yeah, you could
• 32:01
  connect directly
• 32:02
  with
• 32:02
  customer service
• 32:03
  and in a very
• 32:03
  public-facing way
• 32:04
  and see change
• 32:05
  happen
• 32:05
  quite quick.
• 32:06
  I would say
• 32:06
  Twitter access
• 32:08
  turned into a
• 32:08
  different forum.
• 32:10
  But LinkedIn is
• 32:12
  highly visible as
• 32:13
  highly
• 32:14
  professional.
• 32:15
  And I think it is
• 32:16
  important that
• 32:17
  when a large
• 32:18
  multinational
• 32:18
  company
• 32:19
  or a large
• 32:19
  national company
• 32:20
  is breaking the
• 32:21
  law and it is
• 32:22
  putting the
• 32:22
  environment
• 32:23
  at risk.
• 32:23
  I think it's fair
• 32:24
  game to document
• 32:26
  it show where
• 32:27
  it's happening
• 32:27
  and tell the
• 32:29
  appropriate
• 32:29
  Department of
• 32:31
  Environment and Climate
• 32:32
  Change Canada.
• 32:33
  Yeah, it
• 32:34
  might be good.
• 32:36
  But when it comes
• 32:36
  to a small mom
• 32:37
  pop shop, I would
• 32:38
  take a very
• 32:38
  different
• 32:38
  approach.
• 32:39
  Yeah, number one.
• 32:41
  Me and you see
• 32:42
  these
• 32:43
  regulations.
• 32:43
  We understand
• 32:44
  them that is
• 32:46
  super different
• 32:47
  from a
• 32:48
  cafe a bakery.
• 32:51
  The person that
• 32:52
  is running or
• 32:53
  franchising a
• 32:54
  small operation
• 32:55
  is not looking at
• 32:57
  federal
• 32:57
  regulation and
• 32:58
  interpreting it
• 32:59
  and changing like
• 33:00
  their hearing.
• 33:02
  Oh, there's a
• 33:03
  single
• 33:03
  plastic ban.
• 33:04
  I show what items
• 33:05
  is my item.
• 33:05
  Okay, and I think
• 33:07
  what's really
• 33:07
  difficult for
• 33:08
  them is that we
• 33:09
  don't have any
• 33:10
  regulations on
• 33:11
  labeling and
• 33:11
  branding.
• 33:12
  Yeah, they may be
• 33:13
  buying a plastic
• 33:14
  straw or plastic
• 33:15
  fork thinking
• 33:16
  that it's okay
• 33:17
  with the ban
• 33:18
  because it says
• 33:18
  biodegradable or
• 33:19
  compostable.
• 33:20
  It's still
• 33:21
  plastic. It's
• 33:22
  illegal. Right.
• 33:24
  Point blank stop.
• 33:25
  Yeah, careful the
• 33:26
  marketing ploys
• 33:26
  that they use,
• 33:27
  right?
• 33:28
  Here's the thing.
• 33:29
  If it looks and
• 33:29
  feels like
• 33:29
  plastic, it's
• 33:30
  plastic. It's
• 33:31
  plastic. Yeah,
• 33:32
  the law simply
• 33:33
  says the
• 33:34
  regulation keeps
• 33:34
  saying law is a
• 33:35
  regular, commonly
• 33:36
  understood.
• 33:37
  But it is a
• 33:37
  regulation. The
• 33:40
  regulation for
• 33:41
  the ban clearly
• 33:41
  states if it is
• 33:43
  made of or
• 33:44
  containing
• 33:45
  plastic. Right.
• 33:47
  So biodegradable
• 33:49
  eco oxo
• 33:53
  degradable.
• 33:53
  These are all
• 33:54
  chemistry
• 33:56
  terms. Yeah.
• 33:57
  In terms of
• 33:58
  plastic, it's
• 33:59
  plastic. If you
• 34:00
  are putting out a
• 34:01
  plastic fork or
• 34:01
  straw or
• 34:03
  styrofoam and
• 34:04
  it's labeled with
• 34:05
  some sort of eco
• 34:07
  friendly wording
• 34:08
  on it or it's
• 34:09
  written in green
• 34:10
  or blue. Yeah.
• 34:12
  It's trying to
• 34:12
  deceive you don't
• 34:13
  fall for it. You
• 34:14
  should not fall
• 34:15
  victim to
• 34:15
  breaking the law.
• 34:17
  If you are
• 34:18
  entering
• 34:19
  establishments
• 34:19
  and you see that
• 34:20
  they're doing
• 34:20
  that, I would
• 34:21
  just kindly talk
• 34:22
  to the person
• 34:23
  say, hey, I love
• 34:25
  your store.
• 34:26
  I love coming
• 34:27
  here. I'm really
• 34:28
  passionate about
• 34:29
  making sure that
• 34:31
  businesses are
• 34:32
  being
• 34:32
  sustainable. I
• 34:34
  just want you to
• 34:34
  know that this
• 34:35
  product is
• 34:37
  plastic and that
• 34:38
  is part of the
• 34:38
  federal ban. This
• 34:39
  should not be
• 34:40
  sold anymore. And
• 34:42
  just ask them,
• 34:42
  can you just make
• 34:43
  sure that you
• 34:43
  tell the owner or
• 34:45
  the franchise to
• 34:46
  just flag
• 34:47
  it for them.
• 34:48
  And if you want
• 34:48
  additional
• 34:49
  resources to
• 34:50
  double check
• 34:51
  this, I'm happy
• 34:52
  to send them. And
• 34:52
  then I would
• 34:53
  direct them to go
• 34:54
  to environment
• 34:55
  climate change
• 34:55
  Canada's website
• 34:56
  and go to
• 34:56
  websites like
• 34:57
  Oceana. I would
• 34:59
  even say in the
• 35:00
  comment section
• 35:00
  of where this is
• 35:01
  living, we can
• 35:02
  put the link to
• 35:03
  the regulation
• 35:03
  right
• 35:04
  underneath it.
• 35:05
  Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
• 35:06
  That'd be
• 35:06
  perfect. It's
• 35:09
  there's a limit
• 35:11
  to how the
• 35:11
  federal
• 35:11
  government can
• 35:12
  communicate. It
• 35:13
  can only I think
• 35:15
  it can only
• 35:15
  communicate
• 35:16
  officially in
• 35:16
  English and
• 35:17
  French. Yes.
• 35:18
  It's a right very
• 35:19
  standard, very
• 35:20
  blank. Yeah. The
• 35:21
  communication has
• 35:22
  to be pretty much
• 35:23
  dull as compete.
• 35:26
  And that doesn't
• 35:27
  work for everyone
• 35:28
  in like a huge
• 35:28
  country like ours
• 35:30
  that has much a
• 35:31
  diversity of how
• 35:31
  people speak,
• 35:33
  interact, run
• 35:35
  their businesses.
• 35:36
  And we should be
• 35:36
  accommodating to
• 35:37
  that and try to
• 35:38
  bring people
• 35:38
  along with it.
• 35:39
  But I think
• 35:40
  what's really
• 35:41
  important from
• 35:41
  this decision and
• 35:42
  from the ban is
• 35:43
  that businesses
• 35:45
  now see a
• 35:45
  pipeline.
• 35:46
  And I think they
• 35:47
  are constantly, I
• 35:48
  mean, they
• 35:49
  started with a
• 35:49
  couple of items
• 35:50
  on the single
• 35:50
  plastic ban, but
• 35:52
  it could grow. Of
• 35:54
  course, it is a
• 35:55
  government that
• 35:56
  environment
• 35:56
  climate change
• 35:57
  Canada still has
• 35:57
  a priority for
• 35:58
  fighting plastic
• 35:59
  pollution. This
• 36:00
  minister has gone
• 36:01
  out on public
• 36:02
  statements
• 36:02
  multiple times
• 36:03
  now reaffirming
• 36:05
  that this
• 36:05
  government is
• 36:06
  committed to
• 36:07
  fighting plastic
• 36:09
  pollution, to
• 36:09
  working
• 36:10
  cooperatively
• 36:10
  with businesses,
• 36:12
  other levels of
• 36:12
  government
• 36:13
  nationally,
• 36:14
  internationally
• 36:14
  to fight plastic
• 36:15
  pollution.
• 36:16
  There's no signal
• 36:17
  coming from this
• 36:18
  federal
• 36:19
  government that
• 36:19
  they're going to
• 36:20
  all of a sudden
• 36:22
  let single waste
• 36:23
  plastics flood
• 36:24
  the Canadian
• 36:24
  market. And
• 36:25
  there's no signal
• 36:26
  that they're
• 36:26
  going to keep
• 36:28
  investing in
• 36:29
  plastic products
• 36:31
  that are just
• 36:31
  ending up in
• 36:32
  landfill or the
• 36:33
  environment or
• 36:33
  potentially
• 36:34
  putting human
• 36:34
  health at risk.
• 36:35
  So it's a big,
• 36:37
  big market
• 36:37
  signal. Yeah. And
• 36:39
  we'll have to see
• 36:40
  what happens from
• 36:40
  it. But groups
• 36:41
  like Oceana will
• 36:42
  keep pushing for
• 36:43
  this federal
• 36:43
  government to
• 36:44
  take national
• 36:44
  action on
• 36:45
  it because
• 36:47
  Yeah, I can bring
• 36:47
  my reusable cup
• 36:48
  so many times,
• 36:49
  but I would like
• 36:51
  a law that brings
• 36:52
  us all up to
• 36:53
  speed and the
• 36:54
  impact is so big
• 36:55
  as like a little
• 36:56
  like tidbit that
• 36:58
  ban for the
• 36:59
  checkout
• 36:59
  bag. Yeah.
• 37:01
  We're a country
• 37:02
  of like are
• 37:03
  hovering around
• 37:04
  maybe a little
• 37:04
  above 40
• 37:05
  million people.
• 37:06
  The staff from I
• 37:08
  think it was 2021
• 37:09
  or 2022 that year
• 37:11
  Canada sold
• 37:13
  domestically
• 37:14
  somewhere like 17
• 37:17
  billion single
• 37:19
  use plastic
• 37:20
  checkout bags.
• 37:22
  That one law got
• 37:24
  rid of 17
• 37:25
  billion.
• 37:25
  And that's
• 37:29
  probably like one
• 37:30
  year. That's in
• 37:31
  one year. That's
• 37:32
  in one year. One
• 37:35
  of them got some
• 37:35
  the environment
• 37:35
  they come up for
• 37:36
  a couple 100
• 37:37
  years before it. Yeah.
• 37:38
  Microplastics
• 37:39
  which are like
• 37:40
  equally as bad.
• 37:41
  Yeah. God forbid,
• 37:42
  like how many
• 37:42
  animals they kill
• 37:43
  and as they break
• 37:44
  down and
• 37:44
  everything like
• 37:45
  that, right? It's
• 37:45
  just yeah, so it
• 37:48
  saves a lot.
• 37:49
  Yeah, it saves a
• 37:51
  lot. Now here's
• 37:52
  the thing too is
• 37:52
  that we have so
• 37:53
  there's the one
• 37:54
  aspect we have
• 37:55
  businesses
• 37:55
  who are
• 37:55
  are going to be
• 37:57
  complying to
• 37:57
  these hopefully,
• 37:59
  you know, they
• 38:00
  better be. Yeah,
• 38:02
  exactly right
• 38:02
  like and that's
• 38:03
  already started
• 38:04
  to happen and
• 38:04
  like you said,
• 38:05
  we've see we
• 38:05
  rarely see these
• 38:07
  things happen
• 38:07
  which is which is
• 38:08
  great. The other
• 38:10
  thing is on the
• 38:11
  individual side.
• 38:12
  I still feel as
• 38:13
  though especially
• 38:14
  in the last year
• 38:15
  or so there's
• 38:17
  this fight back
• 38:19
  against
• 38:20
  especially when
• 38:21
  it comes to
• 38:22
  straws like the
• 38:23
  plastic straw and
• 38:24
  and and you know
• 38:25
  the plastic straw.
• 38:25
  But it feels
• 38:28
  like. Is for the
• 38:31
  wrong reasons you
• 38:32
  know what I mean?
• 38:32
  It's just like
• 38:33
  it's the
• 38:33
  usability of some
• 38:35
  of these items
• 38:36
  and so can you
• 38:38
  talk a little bit
• 38:39
  about the
• 38:40
  behavior of
• 38:41
  people and the
• 38:42
  thought process
• 38:43
  of people? He had
• 38:45
  president Trump
• 38:45
  come out and be
• 38:46
  like oh, plastic
• 38:47
  straws are back
• 38:48
  in and blah,
• 38:49
  blah, blah and
• 38:49
  this and and felt
• 38:50
  like people were
• 38:51
  there. I've been
• 38:51
  around people
• 38:52
  were just like,
• 38:53
  sorry, oh, sorry
• 38:53
  Ida, we love
• 38:54
  plastic straws
• 38:55
  compared to that, like, Constantin or�, you know, just because it's a wall for a male or what's going on.
• 38:55
  And I'm like,
• 38:56
  okay, like I
• 38:57
  can't really say
• 38:59
  anything
• 38:59
  because this is
• 39:00
  what you prefer,
• 39:01
  but I'm like, why
• 39:02
  do you
• 39:02
  need a straw?
• 39:03
  A lot of times, I
• 39:03
  guess
• 39:03
  they're not,
• 39:04
  they didn't need
• 39:04
  one for,
• 39:05
  you know,
• 39:05
  because of a
• 39:06
  disability or
• 39:06
  anything
• 39:07
  like that.
• 39:07
  I'm like, well,
• 39:08
  I'm just like,
• 39:08
  we're in a nice
• 39:09
  restaurant.
• 39:09
  Why would you
• 39:10
  need a straw?
• 39:10
  Why would you
• 39:10
  just drink at it?
• 39:11
  So, you know, I
• 39:12
  put that
• 39:12
  in there,
• 39:13
  but you can see
• 39:13
  it's like a
• 39:14
  little bit of a,
• 39:15
  not necessarily a
• 39:16
  political nature,
• 39:17
  but it's just
• 39:17
  like this
• 39:18
  behavior that
• 39:18
  people have
• 39:19
  being like, oh
• 39:20
  no, like
• 39:21
  all these,
• 39:22
  some of these
• 39:22
  alternatives that
• 39:23
  we've
• 39:23
  come up with
• 39:24
  instead of
• 39:24
  plastic is just
• 39:26
  not usable
• 39:27
  or people don't
• 39:28
  like the change.
• 39:29
  How do we as a
• 39:31
  country start to,
• 39:33
  or even as
• 39:34
  individuals
• 39:34
  within our own
• 39:35
  friend groups
• 39:36
  and things like
• 39:36
  that and
• 39:36
  family groups,
• 39:37
  how do we start
• 39:38
  to encourage the
• 39:40
  use of
• 39:40
  alternatives
• 39:41
  compared to like
• 39:42
  from plastics?
• 39:44
  Yeah, I think.
• 39:45
  I guess this is
• 39:46
  more
• 39:46
  psychological
• 39:47
  than
• 39:47
  anything else.
• 39:48
  Yeah, this
• 39:50
  is the thing.
• 39:50
  I think you're
• 39:50
  very right with
• 39:51
  the first
• 39:52
  question of,
• 39:53
  do you actually
• 39:54
  need a straw?
• 39:55
  And there are,
• 39:55
  yes, many
• 39:56
  instances
• 39:57
  where someone
• 39:57
  does need a straw
• 39:58
  for multiple
• 39:59
  different
• 39:59
  reasons.
• 40:00
  But for the vast
• 40:01
  majority
• 40:02
  of people,
• 40:02
  the answer is no,
• 40:04
  you don't
• 40:04
  need one.
• 40:07
  That's the first
• 40:07
  thing for sure.
• 40:09
  And here's where
• 40:10
  I'm gonna find
• 40:11
  common ground
• 40:11
  with people.
• 40:13
  Is a paper straw
• 40:14
  the best
• 40:14
  thing ever
• 40:15
  for drinking an
• 40:16
  iced coffee or an
• 40:16
  ice cap?
• 40:17
  No, it
• 40:18
  gets mushy.
• 40:19
  That's fine.
• 40:20
  To that, I just
• 40:20
  gotta say, drink
• 40:21
  it a little
• 40:22
  quicker.
• 40:22
  Yeah, yeah.
• 40:24
  (laughing)
• 40:25
  Drink it a little
• 40:25
  quicker.
• 40:26
  Your iced coffee
• 40:27
  is not meant to
• 40:28
  be there
• 40:28
  for one hour.
• 40:30
  It's not supposed
• 40:30
  to get warm.
• 40:31
  I'll tell
• 40:31
  you that.
• 40:32
  It's not supposed
• 40:32
  to get warm.
• 40:34
  But like, this is
• 40:35
  the thing
• 40:36
  that is true.
• 40:38
  Innovation is
• 40:38
  happening with
• 40:39
  everything.
• 40:39
  Like you have to
• 40:40
  be practical when
• 40:43
  approaching
• 40:44
  these things.
• 40:44
  Yeah.
• 40:45
  Do you think the
• 40:46
  first alternative
• 40:46
  or substitute
• 40:47
  for something is
• 40:49
  going to be the
• 40:49
  perfect version?
• 40:50
  Right, right.
• 40:51
  There's going to be
• 40:51
  innovation in this.
• 40:53
  There are so many
• 40:54
  benefits to
• 40:55
  carrying your own
• 40:56
  reusable straw.
• 40:57
  I have seen so
• 40:57
  many ads.
• 40:58
  The metal straws, yeah.
• 40:58
  Any little things
• 40:59
  you hook onto
• 40:59
  your key chain.
• 41:00
  It folds out.
• 41:02
  Solid metal
• 41:02
  straw, you
• 41:03
  drink it,
• 41:03
  it even has a
• 41:04
  little cleaner,
• 41:04
  you pop a bag,
• 41:05
  put it away.
• 41:06
  If you really
• 41:06
  want one and you
• 41:07
  absolutely--
• 41:09
  Yeah.
• 41:09
  You take a straw.
• 41:10
  Yeah.
• 41:11
  The solutions are
• 41:12
  available to you.
• 41:13
  And I think it's,
• 41:14
  you have to
• 41:15
  really weigh
• 41:16
  is what I'm
• 41:17
  fighting for
• 41:18
  worth it?
• 41:19
  Right.
• 41:20
  Am I really going
• 41:22
  to get up
• 41:22
  in arms?
• 41:22
  Cause I want a
• 41:23
  plastic straw
• 41:24
  right now.
• 41:26
  And I don't care
• 41:27
  that this will
• 41:28
  sit in a landfill
• 41:29
  or go into the
• 41:29
  environment for
• 41:30
  the next
• 41:30
  200 years,
• 41:32
  because I need
• 41:32
  something to help
• 41:33
  drink my drink
• 41:35
  for the next six
• 41:36
  minutes.
• 41:37
  Yeah.
• 41:38
  And again, there
• 41:38
  is the case where
• 41:39
  a lot of people,
• 41:40
  it is required,
• 41:41
  but again, for
• 41:42
  most people,
• 41:42
  this is not the
• 41:43
  case for it.
• 41:45
  We have to be
• 41:46
  practical about,
• 41:47
  is this something
• 41:48
  that I want to
• 41:49
  die on this hill?
• 41:50
  Because it's not,
• 41:52
  when you look at
• 41:53
  the world
• 41:53
  in the grand
• 41:54
  scheme of things,
• 41:55
  what is
• 41:55
  happening?
• 41:56
  Is this something
• 41:57
  that is actually
• 41:58
  important?
• 41:58
  No.
• 41:59
  Yeah.
• 41:59
  If I could not
• 42:00
  have the straw in
• 42:00
  my drink
• 42:01
  right now,
• 42:01
  or I can use a
• 42:02
  paper straw, so
• 42:03
  I'm not creating
• 42:04
  garbage,
• 42:04
  I'm not creating
• 42:05
  something that is
• 42:05
  going to
• 42:05
  outlive me,
• 42:08
  then yeah, I
• 42:08
  should do it.
• 42:09
  And the nice
• 42:11
  thing
• 42:11
  about it is,
• 42:13
  when you have a
• 42:14
  national
• 42:14
  regulation,
• 42:15
  it's less like,
• 42:16
  oh, it's, oh, I'm
• 42:18
  making the
• 42:18
  sacrifice,
• 42:19
  and it's not
• 42:20
  having
• 42:20
  any impact.
• 42:21
  No, it's the
• 42:21
  country is doing
• 42:22
  this with you.
• 42:23
  We're all in this
• 42:24
  together,
• 42:25
  it's going to
• 42:25
  avoid hundreds of
• 42:27
  millions
• 42:28
  of single use
• 42:28
  plastic straws
• 42:31
  from being
• 42:31
  distributed
• 42:32
  in Canada.
• 42:33
  Yeah.
• 42:34
  So it's, you are
• 42:35
  part of this
• 42:35
  collective
• 42:36
  movement,
• 42:36
  this
• 42:36
  collective change,
• 42:38
  and I also think
• 42:40
  we live in a
• 42:41
  North
• 42:41
  American bubble.
• 42:42
  Oh, 100%.
• 42:43
  I'm curious
• 42:44
  around the world.
• 42:45
  Oh, yeah.
• 42:47
  They just don't
• 42:47
  do this.
• 42:48
  No, it's--
• 42:48
  And for me, when
• 42:49
  they look to us,
• 42:50
  and they see us
• 42:51
  complaining about
• 42:52
  it,
• 42:52
  they're like--
• 42:53
  Yeah, for sure.
• 42:55
  Is this the worst
• 42:56
  thing in
• 42:56
  your game?
• 42:57
  Yeah, yeah,
• 42:58
  exactly.
• 42:59
  Yeah, I think we
• 43:00
  gotta put things
• 43:02
  in a perspective,
• 43:04
  are the couple of
• 43:05
  minutes to have
• 43:06
  a, I don't know,
• 43:08
  to drink my drink
• 43:09
  a little bit
• 43:10
  smoother,
• 43:11
  it's not gonna
• 43:12
  smooth
• 43:12
  their drink.
• 43:13
  No, it's true.
• 43:13
  And you know--
• 43:14
  It's worth it,
• 43:14
  and it's not.
• 43:15
  No, I agree.
• 43:16
  And there's a
• 43:16
  couple of
• 43:16
  arguments that I
• 43:17
  always have back
• 43:18
  at it, not like
• 43:18
  going at them,
• 43:20
  but I'm
• 43:20
  just like,
• 43:20
  well, why, like I
• 43:21
  always ask like,
• 43:22
  why do you
• 43:23
  need a straw?
• 43:23
  You know, like
• 43:24
  you said, like,
• 43:24
  why are you using
• 43:25
  this straw?
• 43:26
  Like I understand
• 43:27
  like the paper
• 43:27
  straw may not be
• 43:28
  the greatest, but
• 43:29
  why are you using
• 43:30
  a straw in
• 43:30
  general?
• 43:31
  And then they'll
• 43:32
  be like, oh, I
• 43:32
  need to,
• 43:33
  because a drink,
• 43:33
  or most of
• 43:34
  the time,
• 43:35
  because I've
• 43:35
  never come across
• 43:35
  anybody,
• 43:36
  not that there
• 43:36
  aren't, but I
• 43:37
  never come across
• 43:37
  anybody,
• 43:38
  like in my group
• 43:39
  of people that
• 43:40
  I've seen that
• 43:41
  need one,
• 43:41
  I'm just like,
• 43:42
  would you end a
• 43:42
  lot of the
• 43:43
  arguments,
• 43:43
  like, well, I
• 43:44
  don't know how
• 43:44
  clean the cup
• 43:46
  that I'm
• 43:46
  drinking out of,
• 43:47
  like say in a
• 43:47
  restaurant, I'm
• 43:48
  like, if you
• 43:48
  don't know if
• 43:50
  that cup
• 43:50
  is clean,
• 43:52
  you shouldn't be
• 43:53
  at this
• 43:54
  restaurant if
• 43:55
  you're
• 43:55
  questioning,
• 43:56
  especially in our
• 43:56
  society,
• 43:57
  like in Canada,
• 43:58
  we have certain
• 43:59
  health laws, you
• 44:01
  know, that the
• 44:02
  restaurants have
• 44:02
  to come,
• 44:03
  like, I'm not
• 44:03
  saying it's gonna
• 44:04
  be the cleanest,
• 44:04
  but these go
• 44:05
  through very hot
• 44:06
  dishwashers.
• 44:07
  And like, if
• 44:07
  you've ever been
• 44:08
  like, I've worked
• 44:08
  at a restaurant,
• 44:09
  you know not to
• 44:10
  burn
• 44:10
  yourself on these,
• 44:11
  on the stuff that
• 44:12
  comes out of a
• 44:12
  dishwasher,
• 44:13
  because it's so
• 44:13
  hot, because they
• 44:14
  have to do
• 44:15
  certain things
• 44:15
  and stuff
• 44:16
  like that.
• 44:16
  So I feel like
• 44:17
  there's a good
• 44:17
  conversation to
• 44:18
  have out
• 44:19
  of those.
• 44:19
  And a lot of
• 44:19
  times I engage in
• 44:20
  those
• 44:21
  conversations,
• 44:21
  just being like,
• 44:22
  what are you
• 44:23
  using it for?
• 44:24
  Or why are you
• 44:24
  using it?
• 44:25
  You know, and a
• 44:25
  lot of times it's
• 44:26
  the only
• 44:26
  alternative,
• 44:27
  like, actually,
• 44:27
  it's not, you
• 44:28
  know, like when
• 44:28
  they go
• 44:29
  to like a,
• 44:29
  so let me ask you
• 44:30
  this actually is,
• 44:31
  you go to
• 44:31
  Starbucks,
• 44:32
  you know, it's
• 44:32
  very big with
• 44:33
  teenagers, I have
• 44:34
  two teenage
• 44:34
  daughters.
• 44:35
  So when you go to
• 44:35
  Starbucks, you
• 44:36
  know, my two
• 44:37
  teenage daughters
• 44:37
  love Starbucks.
• 44:38
  It's like the
• 44:38
  thing to do in
• 44:40
  their friend
• 44:40
  groups, right?
• 44:41
  In Burlington,
• 44:42
  Ontario, every
• 44:44
  cup that comes
• 44:45
  out of there,
• 44:45
  unless you're
• 44:46
  using a
• 44:46
  reasonable
• 44:46
  bottle, which a
• 44:47
  lot of
• 44:47
  them do now,
• 44:48
  because I've got
• 44:48
  them to use it,
• 44:50
  they will have a
• 44:51
  plastic cup,
• 44:51
  because they don't carry it
• 44:52
  all the
• 44:53
  time around.
• 44:54
  Is that plastic
• 44:55
  legal or illegal?
• 44:58
  Generally, the
• 44:59
  Starbucks.
• 45:00
  So you mean like a plastic lining,
• 45:01
  or do you mean
• 45:01
  the reusable
• 45:02
  plastic cup?
• 45:03
  Not the reusable,
• 45:03
  sorry, not the,
• 45:04
  so if you go and
• 45:05
  get like a latte,
• 45:06
  I don't drink
• 45:07
  coffee or I don't
• 45:08
  go to Starbucks,
• 45:08
  but if you order
• 45:09
  just a drink,
• 45:10
  even like a fruit
• 45:11
  drink from there,
• 45:12
  it comes in like
• 45:13
  a plastic cup
• 45:14
  with a
• 45:15
  plastic cap.
• 45:15
  Oh, like the iced
• 45:16
  coffee cup.
• 45:17
  Yeah, yeah,
• 45:17
  yeah, yeah.
• 45:19
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 45:19
  Like, are those
• 45:20
  illegal? Are
• 45:21
  those like in
• 45:21
  this ban or are
• 45:23
  those
• 45:23
  part of the,
• 45:24
  like, is that
• 45:25
  like an
• 45:25
  exception or not?
• 45:26
  No, no, they're
• 45:27
  illegal because
• 45:27
  the ban
• 45:29
  specifically
• 45:30
  outlines for like
• 45:31
  takeaway items,
• 45:32
  like cups and
• 45:33
  lids, it lists
• 45:34
  certain types of
• 45:35
  plastic.
• 45:36
  Okay.
• 45:36
  Non recyclable
• 45:36
  things like
• 45:37
  polystyrene,
• 45:38
  styrofoam.
• 45:39
  Gotcha.
• 45:40
  Just things that
• 45:40
  are, if it has
• 45:41
  black pigment in
• 45:43
  it, because black
• 45:43
  plastic just
• 45:44
  doesn't get
• 45:45
  recycled,
• 45:45
  the machine, the
• 45:46
  infrastructure we
• 45:46
  have can't
• 45:47
  recognize it,
• 45:47
  it'll just go
• 45:48
  right to
• 45:48
  landfill.
• 45:49
  Okay.
• 45:50
  But no, you can
• 45:51
  have, you can
• 45:52
  have that solid
• 45:53
  clear plastic
• 45:54
  cup, because they
• 45:56
  have changed the
• 45:57
  material.
• 45:57
  Okay.
• 45:58
  In a lot of
• 45:58
  instances, they
• 45:59
  moved it over to
• 46:00
  polypropylene
• 46:00
  or PET.
• 46:02
  Okay.
• 46:03
  The same stuff
• 46:03
  that the pop
• 46:06
  bottles and water
• 46:07
  bottles are made
• 46:07
  out of, because
• 46:08
  that's the most
• 46:10
  recoverable of
• 46:11
  recycled plastic.
• 46:13
  You see a little
• 46:14
  bit clearer data
• 46:15
  on that one. We
• 46:17
  are, the more and
• 46:18
  more research
• 46:18
  looks into this,
• 46:19
  the more problems
• 46:20
  we seem to find.
• 46:21
  Right.
• 46:21
  With any form of
• 46:22
  recycling for
• 46:23
  plastics.
• 46:23
  Right.
• 46:24
  But it's really
• 46:26
  interesting that
• 46:26
  you mentioned
• 46:27
  Starbucks
• 46:27
  specifically,
• 46:28
  because they have
• 46:28
  actually now
• 46:29
  enacted a
• 46:30
  corporate policy,
• 46:32
  where when you go
• 46:32
  to Starbucks, if
• 46:33
  you're having
• 46:35
  your order
• 46:35
  for here,
• 46:37
  It has to.
• 46:38
  The staff are
• 46:38
  supposed to, and
• 46:40
  they're still in
• 46:40
  the process of
• 46:41
  learning this,
• 46:42
  and I think this
• 46:42
  is where
• 46:43
  citizens and
• 46:44
  consumers can
• 46:45
  step up. And if
• 46:47
  the staff don't
• 46:48
  ask for here to
• 46:48
  go, you
• 46:49
  tell them,
• 46:50
  "Oh, you're
• 46:50
  supposed to ask
• 46:51
  me for
• 46:51
  here to go."
• 46:52
  Right, right.
• 46:53
  My orders for
• 46:54
  here, I wanted a
• 46:55
  mug. I wanted a
• 46:56
  glass. I want my
• 46:57
  order on a plate.
• 46:58
  Because
• 46:58
  Starbucks' new
• 46:59
  policy is that
• 47:00
  they want to make
• 47:01
  their
• 47:01
  cafes again.
• 47:03
  Gotcha.
• 47:03
  They wanted more
• 47:04
  lounges. They saw
• 47:05
  that they were
• 47:06
  charging a lot of
• 47:08
  money for a
• 47:08
  coffee when it's
• 47:09
  just looking like
• 47:10
  a fast
• 47:10
  food joint.
• 47:11
  That's the
• 47:12
  reality of it.
• 47:13
  It's a fast food
• 47:13
  joint with green
• 47:15
  couches and
• 47:16
  wooden floors.
• 47:17
  But it's still
• 47:18
  getting served
• 47:19
  the same quality
• 47:20
  and all just
• 47:20
  garbage.
• 47:21
  Right.
• 47:21
  Because everything, those
• 47:23
  cups are not
• 47:23
  recyclable.
• 47:24
  They're just
• 47:24
  going right to
• 47:24
  the trash.
• 47:25
  So they've
• 47:26
  actually made
• 47:27
  this policy where
• 47:27
  it's reducible,
• 47:28
  which I think is
• 47:29
  an excellent
• 47:30
  corporate policy.
• 47:31
  Absolutely.
• 47:32
  I will 100% give
• 47:33
  them their
• 47:34
  flowers for that.
• 47:35
  Yeah. Because there are
• 47:36
  so many
• 47:36
  restaurants,
• 47:37
  McDonald's,
• 47:38
  Burger King. Even
• 47:40
  if you go to the
• 47:41
  kiosk at the
• 47:41
  front desk and
• 47:42
  you save my
• 47:42
  orders for here,
• 47:43
  they're giving it
• 47:43
  to you in a bag,
• 47:45
  in takeout
• 47:45
  containers that
• 47:46
  used to be
• 47:47
  on a plate.
• 47:47
  Yeah.
• 47:47
  They just
• 47:48
  have a tray.
• 47:48
  Yeah.
• 47:49
  They just
• 47:49
  completely
• 47:50
  abandoned it. And
• 47:51
  please tell me
• 47:52
  the last time
• 47:52
  you've been in
• 47:53
  McDonald's and
• 47:53
  there hasn't been
• 47:54
  trash all over
• 47:55
  the floor
• 47:56
  overflowing from
• 47:57
  the bins.
• 47:58
  Yeah.
• 47:58
  There should be
• 47:59
  no garbage at a
• 48:01
  onsite garbage
• 48:03
  for a restaurant
• 48:04
  or a cafe.
• 48:05
  That's crazy.
• 48:06
  They make a lot
• 48:07
  of garbage in the
• 48:07
  back of the
• 48:08
  house, but the
• 48:09
  front of the
• 48:09
  house should at
• 48:11
  best have paper
• 48:13
  straws, napkins.
• 48:15
  Yeah.
• 48:15
  That's it.
• 48:16
  Yeah.
• 48:17
  Everything else
• 48:17
  should be a
• 48:17
  reusable
• 48:18
  container and
• 48:19
  then that's it.
• 48:20
  Food waste.
• 48:21
  The drinking
• 48:22
  containers drive
• 48:23
  me nuts at any of
• 48:24
  those
• 48:24
  restaurants, like
• 48:25
  at any of those
• 48:26
  fast food places.
• 48:27
  Like if you're
• 48:27
  going to stay in,
• 48:28
  just give me like
• 48:29
  a regular cup and
• 48:30
  just wash it in
• 48:30
  the back,
• 48:31
  you know.
• 48:32
  And when you go
• 48:32
  to the waste
• 48:33
  bins, they have
• 48:34
  these sorting
• 48:35
  stations that
• 48:36
  say, "Cups, lids,
• 48:38
  recyclable
• 48:39
  garbage."
• 48:39
  And it's one big
• 48:41
  bin at
• 48:41
  the bottom.
• 48:42
  Yeah.
• 48:43
  It is such a
• 48:46
  thing. I really
• 48:48
  hate this thing
• 48:49
  that businesses
• 48:49
  do where you feel
• 48:51
  gotch'ed.
• 48:52
  Yeah.
• 48:53
  Just do the right
• 48:54
  thing. And I
• 48:55
  think this is
• 48:55
  also like a huge
• 48:56
  signal, not just
• 48:57
  from government,
• 48:57
  that they are
• 48:58
  trying to take
• 48:59
  action against
• 48:59
  plastic
• 49:00
  pollution.
• 49:02
  Consumers do not
• 49:02
  like being lied
• 49:03
  to point blank.
• 49:04
  For sure.
• 49:05
  No matter what
• 49:05
  your political
• 49:06
  affiliation is,
• 49:07
  whether you care
• 49:07
  about the
• 49:08
  environment or
• 49:08
  not, whether you
• 49:09
  care about your
• 49:09
  own human
• 49:09
  health or not.
• 49:10
  Yeah.
• 49:11
  Whether you care
• 49:11
  about plastic or
• 49:12
  not, or you hate
• 49:12
  the paper straw
• 49:13
  or not, I don't
• 49:14
  know a single
• 49:15
  person that loves
• 49:16
  getting lied to.
• 49:17
  No, absolutely.
• 49:18
  And this is the
• 49:18
  thing that they
• 49:19
  are telling the
• 49:20
  businesses are
• 49:21
  kind of pushing,
• 49:23
  "Oh, we're going
• 49:23
  to recycle it if
• 49:24
  you put it in
• 49:24
  this bin."
• 49:25
  It's not. So why
• 49:26
  not just give me
• 49:27
  the solution
• 49:27
  that works?
• 49:28
  Yeah.
• 49:29
  And this is why
• 49:30
  at Oceana, we
• 49:30
  always go with
• 49:32
  this motto that
• 49:33
  like, "Reuse
• 49:34
  works. Recycling
• 49:35
  will not
• 49:36
  save us."
• 49:36
  Yeah.
• 49:37
  And all this talk
• 49:39
  about we need to
• 49:39
  build more
• 49:40
  infrastructure
• 49:41
  and innovate a
• 49:42
  new way of
• 49:43
  recycling and
• 49:44
  invest hundreds
• 49:45
  of millions of
• 49:46
  dollars in
• 49:47
  facilities that
• 49:47
  have never been
• 49:48
  proven to work.
• 49:50
  When we could
• 49:50
  just look back 50
• 49:52
  years, what did
• 49:53
  work? When we had
• 49:54
  refill and reuse,
• 49:56
  when we had
• 49:56
  de-packaged
• 49:57
  items, everything
• 49:59
  didn't need to
• 49:59
  come wrapped in.
• 50:01
  Single-use
• 50:01
  plastic
• 50:01
  bags or film.
• 50:03
  And it gave
• 50:04
  people so much
• 50:05
  freedom and
• 50:06
  variety.
• 50:07
  I do not need to
• 50:09
  cook 100 Brussels
• 50:11
  sprouts when you
• 50:12
  go to the
• 50:13
  grocery store.
• 50:14
  I really want to
• 50:14
  cook them for
• 50:15
  maybe today and
• 50:15
  tomorrow. Let me
• 50:16
  grab two little
• 50:17
  handfuls and a
• 50:18
  little brown
• 50:18
  paper bag.
• 50:19
  Because the thing
• 50:20
  that's going to
• 50:21
  lead to food
• 50:21
  waste is not the
• 50:23
  packaging.
• 50:24
  It's my inability
• 50:26
  to self-select
• 50:27
  how much food I
• 50:28
  want to buy.
• 50:28
  Oh my gosh. Yes.
• 50:30
  You need some
• 50:30
  frustrating
• 50:31
  to see.
• 50:32
  The grocery
• 50:32
  stores that they
• 50:34
  are incentivizing
• 50:35
  you to buy these
• 50:36
  large packages
• 50:37
  where it's just
• 50:37
  going to rot.
• 50:38
  It's the amount
• 50:39
  of stuff that we
• 50:40
  end up throwing
• 50:40
  out as a family
• 50:41
  of four is
• 50:42
  ridiculous.
• 50:44
  And let me ask
• 50:44
  you, I mean, this
• 50:45
  is completely
• 50:46
  anecdotal.
• 50:47
  Yeah.
• 50:48
  Scientific fact.
• 50:48
  Of course.
• 50:49
  Those things that
• 50:50
  go bad, are they
• 50:51
  things that you
• 50:52
  bought loose or
• 50:53
  are they things
• 50:53
  that you bought
• 50:54
  in bags?
• 50:55
  All in bags.
• 50:56
  And that's the
• 50:57
  reality.
• 50:58
  Yeah. So many papers
• 51:00
  and research has
• 51:00
  shown that the
• 51:02
  biggest thing
• 51:02
  leading to food
• 51:02
  waste is one, the
• 51:03
  fact that our
• 51:03
  fridge is
• 51:04
  so big now.
• 51:04
  Yeah.
• 51:05
  It's the fact
• 51:06
  that our fridge
• 51:07
  is so big and we
• 51:08
  are buying in
• 51:09
  bags and like
• 51:10
  these giant,
• 51:11
  like weird.
• 51:14
  It's almost like
• 51:15
  we're losing
• 51:15
  autonomy.
• 51:16
  100%.
• 51:17
  What we can pick
• 51:17
  at the
• 51:18
  grocery store.
• 51:19
  Yep.
• 51:20
  And in this time
• 51:20
  of cost of living
• 51:22
  crises and we
• 51:23
  want to be able
• 51:24
  to like guard our
• 51:25
  wallet as much as
• 51:25
  possible.
• 51:26
  And we want to be
• 51:27
  able to make
• 51:27
  smart sustainable
• 51:29
  decisions, not
• 51:30
  just for like the
• 51:31
  environment
• 51:31
  before are also
• 51:32
  like stretching
• 51:33
  our paycheck as
• 51:33
  far as it can go.
• 51:35
  You should be
• 51:36
  able to buy as
• 51:36
  much of something
• 51:38
  as you want,
• 51:38
  rather than being
• 51:39
  forced to buy
• 51:40
  something.
• 51:40
  Yeah.
• 51:41
  And businesses
• 51:42
  have moved into
• 51:44
  this weird space
• 51:44
  where they give
• 51:45
  you a tiny little
• 51:47
  packet in single
• 51:49
  use plastic
• 51:49
  because that's
• 51:50
  really,
• 51:50
  really cheap.
• 51:51
  So they're
• 51:51
  incentivizing you
• 51:52
  to get like a
• 51:53
  basically
• 51:54
  negligible amount
• 51:55
  of anything.
• 51:56
  I think about
• 51:57
  like a beauty
• 51:57
  product, like
• 51:58
  they can give you
• 51:58
  like a thing of
• 51:59
  moisturizer
• 51:59
  that's
• 52:00
  like this big.
• 52:01
  Yeah.
• 52:01
  Or here.
• 52:04
  Yeah.
• 52:04
  Yeah.
• 52:05
  No, it's.
• 52:05
  Or why can't I
• 52:06
  have a container
• 52:07
  that's refillable
• 52:08
  in the middle?
• 52:09
  Why can I buy one
• 52:12
  pair unpackaged
• 52:14
  and it's
• 52:15
  strangely so much
• 52:17
  more per
• 52:17
  kilogram, if not
• 52:18
  by unit, than
• 52:20
  four of them put
• 52:21
  together.
• 52:22
  And they're like
• 52:22
  nearly always
• 52:23
  ripe. And I'm
• 52:24
  like, I'm not
• 52:24
  gonna be able to
• 52:24
  eat four pairs in
• 52:26
  one day.
• 52:27
  No, yeah, that's
• 52:28
  the thing, right?
• 52:28
  It's there's so
• 52:29
  many, there's so
• 52:30
  much waste. And I
• 52:30
  think it's also,
• 52:32
  I mean, this is a
• 52:32
  good
• 52:32
  exercise too.
• 52:33
  We'll end the
• 52:33
  show here, but
• 52:34
  it's asking
• 52:36
  yourself a lot of
• 52:37
  the questions,
• 52:38
  like, do I need
• 52:38
  this, you know,
• 52:40
  when you go to
• 52:40
  the grocery store
• 52:41
  or when you go
• 52:42
  into a Starbucks,
• 52:43
  it's like, this
• 52:43
  isn't going to
• 52:44
  get recycled.
• 52:45
  Like, do I really
• 52:45
  need this in this
• 52:46
  cup? Or can I
• 52:47
  bring my own? Or
• 52:49
  can I get if I'm
• 52:50
  staying, maybe I
• 52:50
  can just sit here
• 52:51
  and lounge around
• 52:52
  and asking
• 52:54
  yourself those
• 52:54
  questions and
• 52:55
  then using that
• 52:56
  as your consumer,
• 52:57
  you have
• 52:58
  the power.
• 52:59
  And if enough
• 52:59
  people ask
• 53:00
  themselves the
• 53:00
  questions and
• 53:01
  start to look at
• 53:01
  the way we live,
• 53:04
  really, just the
• 53:04
  way we behave on
• 53:05
  a regular basis,
• 53:06
  we can start to
• 53:07
  look at these
• 53:07
  changes and just
• 53:08
  be like, oh,
• 53:09
  actually, yeah, I
• 53:09
  don't need to buy
• 53:10
  a whole bag of
• 53:11
  broccoli because
• 53:11
  I'm not going to
• 53:12
  eat the entire
• 53:13
  bag of broccoli.
• 53:13
  It's going to go
• 53:14
  bad. So maybe if
• 53:15
  I just buy like
• 53:16
  the broccoli,
• 53:16
  yeah, maybe if I
• 53:17
  just buy a
• 53:17
  broccoli, like
• 53:18
  loose, chop it up
• 53:19
  and I'll have it
• 53:20
  all in like that
• 53:21
  day. I think it's
• 53:22
  just yeah, I
• 53:22
  think it's
• 53:23
  sometimes we
• 53:24
  think convenience
• 53:24
  is convenience,
• 53:25
  but it's not
• 53:26
  convenient. You
• 53:27
  know what I mean?
• 53:27
  And I think that
• 53:28
  is the I think
• 53:29
  that is the myth
• 53:30
  about single use.
• 53:31
  Yeah, I think it
• 53:32
  is so convenient.
• 53:33
  It's not this
• 53:34
  with coffee.
• 53:36
  Yeah. Canadians
• 53:37
  love love coffee.
• 53:39
  Yeah. That paper
• 53:40
  cup is not a
• 53:41
  paper cup. That's
• 53:42
  not a material.
• 53:43
  It's lined with a
• 53:45
  plastic liner.
• 53:46
  That's what
• 53:46
  prevents that cop
• 53:47
  from being
• 53:47
  recycled. If you
• 53:49
  look to Ontario,
• 53:50
  the largest
• 53:50
  province, when
• 53:51
  you throw it into
• 53:52
  the bin, either
• 53:53
  recycling or
• 53:53
  garbage, it's
• 53:54
  still going to
• 53:54
  the same place.
• 53:55
  That's not going
• 53:56
  to work. It's not
• 53:57
  recyclable.
• 53:58
  And the more
• 53:58
  we're learning
• 53:59
  about, like, it's
• 53:59
  such a thin layer
• 54:00
  of plastic that
• 54:01
  when you add hot
• 54:03
  beverages into
• 54:03
  it, a lot of
• 54:05
  research has been
• 54:06
  linking like hot
• 54:08
  beverages and
• 54:08
  those linings to
• 54:09
  how people are
• 54:10
  ingesting micro
• 54:11
  plastics because
• 54:12
  that hot,
• 54:13
  liquid is
• 54:15
  interacting with
• 54:15
  this thin piece
• 54:17
  of plastic and
• 54:18
  it's kind of
• 54:19
  swirling around.
• 54:20
  Yeah. I mean,
• 54:21
  this thing, the
• 54:22
  the growing body
• 54:23
  of evidence on
• 54:25
  human health
• 54:26
  impacts and
• 54:27
  plastics and
• 54:27
  plastic
• 54:28
  chemicals, it's
• 54:29
  growing every single day. Yeah.
• 54:31
  I'm not a doctor.
• 54:33
  I'm not a medical
• 54:34
  researcher. I'm
• 54:34
  not a human
• 54:35
  health expert,
• 54:35
  but it has opened
• 54:37
  my eyes to
• 54:38
  certain habits. I
• 54:39
  personally, I do
• 54:42
  not take a hot
• 54:42
  drink in a single
• 54:44
  use to go cup.
• 54:44
  Yeah. Yeah. Hot
• 54:45
  drink. It'll only
• 54:47
  ever be in a
• 54:48
  reusable. Yeah. Use metal. Yeah.
• 54:48
  Yeah. Or I'll
• 54:52
  pick the cold
• 54:52
  option. Yeah. And
• 54:53
  he's ready to go
• 54:55
  meals that tell
• 54:56
  you to heat them
• 54:57
  up in the middle.
• 54:58
  No, no, no, no,
• 55:00
  no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
• 55:00
  no, no, no, no. I
• 55:00
  was actually
• 55:01
  going to sign up
• 55:01
  for them. And I
• 55:02
  was actually
• 55:03
  going to sign up
• 55:03
  for because a
• 55:04
  friend of mine
• 55:04
  showed me and I'm
• 55:05
  like, but what's
• 55:06
  what's it being
• 55:06
  heated in? And
• 55:07
  like, oh, that's
• 55:08
  plastic. I'm
• 55:08
  like, yeah, no,
• 55:09
  I'm out. Like,
• 55:10
  there's no way
• 55:10
  that's good for
• 55:11
  me. There's no
• 55:12
  way. Nothing's
• 55:14
  like there's no
• 55:14
  smoking gun of no
• 55:16
  research that's
• 55:17
  out there right
• 55:17
  now. Right.
• 55:18
  Yeah. I mean, it's just it's,
• 55:18
  it's, it's
• 55:20
  contentious is
• 55:21
  like a light word
• 55:22
  for what's going
• 55:23
  on in the
• 55:23
  research
• 55:24
  community for it,
• 55:25
  but for sure.
• 55:27
  It's a lot of
• 55:28
  evidence. It's
• 55:29
  piling up. And
• 55:30
  personally,
• 55:30
  that's those are
• 55:31
  little changes
• 55:32
  that I make. I
• 55:33
  love it. I love
• 55:33
  it. Little
• 55:34
  changes lead to
• 55:34
  big changes. And
• 55:36
  no, we appreciate
• 55:37
  Anthony coming
• 55:37
  on. Kind of
• 55:38
  giving us the low
• 55:39
  down. We
• 55:40
  congratulate you
• 55:41
  in Oceana on the
• 55:42
  work that you've
• 55:43
  done as well as
• 55:43
  every other
• 55:44
  organization
• 55:44
  that's taken part
• 55:45
  to make sure that
• 55:47
  this law
• 55:47
  stays as a
• 55:48
  law. It's the
• 55:49
  regulation stays
• 55:50
  as a regulation
• 55:50
  and hopefully,
• 55:52
  and I believe
• 55:53
  that's what we've
• 55:53
  discussed in the
• 55:54
  past. There will
• 55:54
  be more
• 55:55
  regulations that
• 55:55
  come out that are
• 55:57
  based on the SIPA
• 55:58
  law and the SIPA
• 55:59
  designation. And
• 56:00
  we appreciate all
• 56:01
  the work that
• 56:02
  you've done to
• 56:02
  not only educate
• 56:04
  us here, but
• 56:05
  everybody else,
• 56:06
  you know, on your
• 56:07
  LinkedIn, on all
• 56:08
  like the way
• 56:09
  Oceana works too.
• 56:10
  You guys have
• 56:10
  done just a
• 56:11
  fantastic job in
• 56:12
  educating all of
• 56:13
  us. So we
• 56:13
  appreciate you
• 56:14
  coming on and
• 56:14
  sharing
• 56:14
  that with us.
• 56:15
  Thank you so
• 56:16
  much. And I think
• 56:17
  for anyone
• 56:18
  listening, if
• 56:18
  they want to go
• 56:19
  to Oceana dot CA,
• 56:20
  you can learn
• 56:21
  about our plastic
• 56:21
  campaigns there.
• 56:23
  We work both
• 56:23
  federally and
• 56:24
  with other levels
• 56:25
  of government
• 56:26
  with cities.
• 56:27
  We're currently
• 56:27
  pushing Toronto
• 56:29
  and Vancouver to
• 56:30
  bring in reuse
• 56:30
  systems to their
• 56:32
  venues and their
• 56:32
  fan festivals for
• 56:33
  the FIFA
• 56:34
  World Cup 20.
• 56:35
  Right around the
• 56:37
  corner. I know,
• 56:39
  but it's such a
• 56:40
  good opportunity
• 56:40
  to create jobs in
• 56:43
  the circular
• 56:44
  economy. We just
• 56:45
  saw the whole had
• 56:46
  reused with Pepsi
• 56:47
  at the stadium.
• 56:49
  Why can't Toronto
• 56:50
  and Vancouver do
• 56:51
  this? So, catch
• 56:53
  up and I mean, I
• 56:55
  don't encourage
• 56:56
  everyone to go to
• 56:56
  my LinkedIn, but
• 56:57
  if you want to
• 56:58
  get more
• 56:58
  information.
• 56:59
  Absolutely. Hey,
• 57:01
  you provide a
• 57:02
  service and we
• 57:02
  love it. So I'm
• 57:03
  going to put it
• 57:04
  in there. Yeah,
• 57:06
  absolutely. Thank
• 57:07
  you so much. We
• 57:08
  really
• 57:09
  appreciate it.
• 57:10
  Thank you,
• 57:10
  Anthony, for
• 57:11
  joining us on
• 57:11
  today's episode
• 57:12
  of the How to
• 57:13
  Protect the Ocean
• 57:14
  podcast was great
• 57:14
  to have you on it
• 57:15
  once again,
• 57:16
  talking about
• 57:17
  plastics. And I
• 57:18
  just think if you
• 57:18
  want to follow
• 57:19
  Anthony, you can
• 57:19
  go and just look
• 57:20
  at the show
• 57:21
  notes. We'll have
• 57:21
  his
• 57:21
  LinkedIn there.
• 57:22
  He's got some
• 57:23
  great posts on
• 57:24
  just how people
• 57:25
  are dealing with
• 57:26
  plastics in
• 57:26
  general, how
• 57:27
  event venues and
• 57:29
  a lot of other
• 57:31
  different
• 57:31
  restaurants and
• 57:32
  stuff like that
• 57:32
  calling out big,
• 57:33
  big plastic and
• 57:34
  companies for
• 57:35
  using plastics
• 57:35
  that they
• 57:36
  shouldn't be.
• 57:36
  It's really, it's
• 57:37
  really
• 57:37
  interesting to
• 57:38
  see how
• 57:38
  government is
• 57:39
  taking the lead
• 57:40
  on this,
• 57:41
  especially here
• 57:41
  in Canada and how
• 57:42
  we can start to
• 57:43
  see this maybe
• 57:45
  lead other
• 57:45
  countries or
• 57:46
  other states or
• 57:47
  provinces or any
• 57:48
  other territories
• 57:49
  to do more in
• 57:50
  terms of plastic
• 57:52
  pollution
• 57:52
  reduction.
• 57:53
  It doesn't matter
• 57:54
  if you want to
• 57:54
  pay if you want
• 57:55
  to if you want to
• 57:55
  pay extra for a
• 57:56
  plastic bag, you
• 57:57
  can't do that
• 57:57
  anymore. Now it's
• 57:59
  all about or you
• 58:00
  shouldn't be able
• 58:00
  to do that
• 58:00
  anymore. Now it's
• 58:01
  all about the
• 58:02
  reusable bags and
• 58:03
  there's still
• 58:03
  ways to manage
• 58:04
  the reasonable
• 58:04
  bag properly.
• 58:05
  Don't always buy
• 58:06
  a reasonable bag
• 58:07
  every time you're
• 58:08
  at the grocery
• 58:08
  store. Reuse your
• 58:10
  reusable bag when
• 58:11
  you bring it to
• 58:12
  the grocery
• 58:12
  store. Keep it in
• 58:12
  your trunk, keep
• 58:13
  it in your
• 58:14
  bicycle, like a
• 58:15
  basket or
• 58:17
  wherever you keep
• 58:17
  it. It's always
• 58:18
  with you so that
• 58:19
  you can even have
• 58:20
  some that are
• 58:20
  small enough that
• 58:21
  you can put in a
• 58:22
  purse or in your
• 58:22
  pocket or
• 58:23
  something like
• 58:23
  that. There's a
• 58:24
  lot of ingenuity
• 58:25
  around that. They
• 58:26
  have plastic
• 58:27
  straws, they have
• 58:27
  bamboo straws, or
• 58:29
  not plastic
• 58:30
  straws, they have
• 58:30
  paper straws that
• 58:31
  are reinforced.
• 58:31
  You can even have
• 58:32
  a metal straw
• 58:32
  that you can keep
• 58:33
  on you at all times if you really want to do that.
• 58:34
  You can even have a metal straw that you can keep on you at all
• 58:34
  times if you
• 58:35
  really want to
• 58:35
  have a straw or
• 58:36
  you just don't go
• 58:37
  with straw at
• 58:37
  all. There's all
• 58:38
  these different
• 58:38
  ways to handle
• 58:39
  single use
• 58:39
  plastics and it's
• 58:40
  up to you if you
• 58:40
  want to be
• 58:41
  healthier and not
• 58:42
  not say hey you
• 58:43
  know what I've
• 58:44
  had toxic plastic
• 58:45
  doesn't matter
• 58:46
  the plastic all
• 58:46
  plastic is toxic.
• 58:48
  There's certain
• 58:48
  items in Canada
• 58:49
  that are banned
• 58:50
  but we should be
• 58:50
  staying away from
• 58:51
  plastic as much
• 58:52
  as possible
• 58:53
  because it's not
• 58:53
  good for us. And
• 58:55
  so that's your
• 58:55
  that's your
• 58:56
  incentive not
• 58:57
  just to protect
• 58:58
  the ocean but to
• 58:59
  protect yourself
• 59:00
  your own health
• 59:00
  knowing that
• 59:01
  plastic is bad.
• 59:02
  So having you
• 59:03
  know I still see
• 59:03
  plastic water
• 59:04
  bottles being
• 59:04
  ingested that all
• 59:06
  that plastic is
• 59:07
  not good. It's
• 59:08
  not good for you
• 59:09
  every time you
• 59:09
  twist off a cap
• 59:10
  that the brakes
• 59:12
  of that cap goes
• 59:12
  into the bottle
• 59:13
  right and the
• 59:14
  little material
• 59:15
  goes into the
• 59:15
  bottle that
• 59:16
  microplastic goes
• 59:16
  into your body
• 59:18
  and you get
• 59:18
  affected in the
• 59:19
  long run and it's
• 59:20
  just made of some
• 59:20
  nasty stuff so
• 59:21
  you don't want to
• 59:22
  have any of that.
• 59:23
  I'm not a health
• 59:23
  practitioner but
• 59:24
  I know enough to
• 59:25
  stay away as much
• 59:25
  as possible from
• 59:27
  plastic because
• 59:28
  it's toxic and we
• 59:29
  now know that
• 59:29
  it's upheld in
• 59:30
  Canada as toxic
• 59:31
  and that's really
• 59:32
  important. The
• 59:32
  science is
• 59:33
  actually the
• 59:34
  science is
• 59:34
  based decision
• 59:34
  making has
• 59:35
  actually ruled
• 59:36
  and the courts
• 59:36
  have have upheld
• 59:38
  the ruling and I
• 59:39
  think it's great.
• 59:40
  So that's it for
• 59:40
  today's episode.
• 59:41
  If you love this
• 59:42
  type of ocean
• 59:43
  news and you want
• 59:44
  to hear more all
• 59:44
  you have to do is
• 59:45
  just smash that
• 59:45
  that follow
• 59:46
  button and you
• 59:47
  will be able to
• 59:48
  hear next week's
• 59:49
  episodes and
• 59:50
  every to every
• 59:51
  weekday from
• 59:51
  Monday to Friday
• 59:52
  5 a.m. eastern is
• 59:53
  posted enjoy the
• 59:55
  episode.
• 59:56
  I want to thank
• 59:57
  you for joining
• 59:57
  me on today's
• 59:58
  episode of the
• 59:59
  how to protect
• 59:59
  the ocean
• 59:59
  podcast. I'm your
• 1:00:00
  host Andrew Llewe
• 1:00:01
  have a great day.
• 1:00:02
  We'll talk to you
• 1:00:02
  next time and
• 1:00:03
  happy
• 1:00:03
  conservation.