Last week, 4,000 United Nations (UN) delegates descended on Ottawa for a meeting of the UN’s Environmental Policy group in an attempt to further their goal of banning plastics.
This is a foolish pursuit which has no basis in science or practical policy.
In Canada, the attempts of hapless Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to ban a number of plastic products such as plastic bags, cutlery, take-out containers and straws was slapped down by the federal court last November on the basis that such a ban was not scientific and was an intrusion of the federal government into provincial jurisdiction.
Undaunted by the court’s ruling, Guilbeault says he will appeal this decision despite evidence that the majority of Canadians wish he would butt out on the plastics issue and leave well enough alone.
My organization, the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada (CCMBC), has a number of plastics manufacturers among its membership as well as many companies in the oil and gas sector, which provide the feedstock for much of the plastics industry. As is the case for most of this sector, the Canadian industry is one of the most innovative and environmentally sensitive in the world.
Canadian plastics companies are leaders in producing products that are innovative and biodegradable.
They also promote recycling, and plastics are very recyclable – some almost infinitely – if only we had the infrastructure in place to accommodate it.
My trip to Ottawa was motivated by the need to distribute the facts on plastic to the UN crowd.
Despite my several decades spent in the world of advocacy for small- and medium-sized businesses, I have never been at the heart of a UN meeting before. I couldn’t believe the massive security, the fenced-off areas of much of downtown Ottawa and the disruption to everyday lives of its citizens. One of my colleagues who attended many of the UN sessions said he had never seen so many communists in one place.
Our message that plastics were a major advantage to society and the economy was not received well by the attendees, but was certainly noticed as our message was carried by banners on a number of local taxis and an electronic billboard truck in downtown Ottawa.
I wonder if many of the delegates realized that everything from their headphones for translation, the signs designating where different sessions took place, much of their clothing, cellphones, computers and so on were constructed of plastic? It seemed that the irony was lost on them.
The facts demonstrate that plastics are irreplaceable in many areas, including health care, consumer products, construction, health and safety equipment, and manufacturing, among others. Plastic is often a plus for the environment, such as in automobiles and airplanes when they replace heavier materials and enhance energy efficiency.
They have no substitutes in health care where they ensure cleanliness and sterile environments and in food packaging where food is kept bacteria-free and food waste is reduced as food lasts longer. We would never have gotten through the pandemic without plastics.
Plastic pollution is indeed a reality, but a focus on better recycling methods is a much more sensible approach than trying to ban the plastic products that so improve our health, our environment and our quality of life.
Nothing decisive is expected to come out of this UN meeting, despite all the money spent — all of it taxpayer dollars from many different countries, some of them terribly impoverished. When the UN was first created after the end of the Second World War, its mission was to prevent another world war and in the process benefit all of mankind. Instead of having expensive meetings like this recent one in Ottawa, with all of the pricey security, lavish hotel suites and sumptuous meals and beverages, maybe the UN could forgo something like this in future and devote the many millions of dollars saved to improve the standard of living in developing countries.
Perhaps they could also stop pursuing ridiculous ideological goals that have no basis in science or benefit to humanity. Just a thought.
— Catherine Swift is president of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada. Learn more about the campaign at plasticsaveslives.ca.
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SWIFT: Clueless UN delegates came to Ottawa to push for a plastics ban – we pushed back
22
0
03.05.2024
Last week, 4,000 United Nations (UN) delegates descended on Ottawa for a meeting of the UN’s Environmental Policy group in an attempt to further their goal of banning plastics.
This is a foolish pursuit which has no basis in science or practical policy.
In Canada, the attempts of hapless Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to ban a number of plastic products such as plastic bags, cutlery, take-out containers and straws was slapped down by the federal court last November on the basis that such a ban was not scientific and was an intrusion of the federal government into provincial jurisdiction.
Undaunted by the court’s ruling, Guilbeault says he will appeal this decision despite evidence that the majority of Canadians wish he would butt out on the plastics issue and leave well enough alone.
My organization, the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada (CCMBC), has a number of plastics manufacturers among its membership as well as many companies in the oil and gas sector, which provide the feedstock for much of the plastics industry. As is the case for most of this sector, the Canadian industry is one of the most innovative and environmentally sensitive in the world.
Canadian plastics companies are leaders in producing products that are innovative and biodegradable.
They also promote........
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