During the Global Pandemic: There’s No Recovery Needed From CV-19 for Our Oceans, It’s Time to Invest in the Circular Economy Now More than Ever

Surfrider Foundation Canada Statement During the Global Pandemic: 

There’s No Recovery Needed From COVID-19 for the Oceans, It’s Time to Invest in the Circular Economy Now More than Ever

The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. For the Surfrider Foundation Canada chapters, our focus is directed toward ending plastic pollution, which is one of the largest threats to the world’s ocean, and a major contributor to climate change. 

In the last two years, we have contributed to and seen the rise of the movement to address plastic pollution in Canada, from the passing of Motion-151 in December 2018 in the House of Commons, which called for a national strategy on plastic pollution, to the launch of the federal government’s Canada-Wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste in June 2019. We now find ourselves in a pivotal moment on the planet with the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we’ve witnessed in past crises, polluting industries capitalize on these vulnerable periods to lobby governments for deregulation. We’re currently seeing this in the United States as the plastics industry is working to overturn plastic bans, citing misinformation that single-use plastics are the most sanitary material to rely on, while reusables are a risk for spreading the virus. We cannot allow this same situation to take control in Canada. Furthermore, we are beyond banning the bag; we need to elevate our efforts to a greater number of comprehensive measures in order to truly tackle this crisis. Considering this pandemic is a consequence of the destruction of ecosystems and our dissonant relationship with the natural world, we need environmental policies to be strengthened, not unraveled. 

Getting the Facts Straight About CV-19 on Surfaces and Plastics

A new study in The New England Journal of Medicine has indicated that CV-19 can live on plastic surfaces for up to two or three days, longer than all other materials tested, including cardboard and glass. Furthermore, single-use plastics are only distributed after they’ve reached the end of the supply chain line after being handled by an array of workers, and thus pose an increased risk of harbouring viruses. Personally owned reusable bottles, mugs, bags and containers stay sanitary as long as they are washed with warm water and soap. In combination with advancing our personal hygiene practices, spending more time at home as we socially distance ourselves is also illustrating our ability to cut our ties to disposable plastics and mass consumerism. In light of this, we need the leaders of Canada and the world over to make decisions based on scientific evidence and the advice of medical professionals, not lobbyists for the fossil fuel and plastic industries who are contributors to the very pandemic they’re claiming to solve.

Creating Inclusive and a Systems-Level Approach to Strengthening Our Zero Plastic Waste Strategy 

Building upon the monumental work achieved by First Nations, nonprofits, municipal governments, businesses, and countless citizens, it is crucial for the federal government to stay on track with the Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste, advancing action to eliminate and reduce plastic pollution and waste. This is a necessary component of a just recovery following the pandemic, which encompasses investing in a circular economy. With this, the federal government needs to prioritize an intervention that includes the following measures:

• Expanding extended producer responsibility that makes manufacturers of products containing plastics or using plastic packaging responsible for the full life cycle of what they produce;

• Banning plastic products and packaging that result in marine debris and pollution or are otherwise difficult to collect and recycle; 

• Requiring manufacturers of products containing plastics or using plastic packaging to use a minimum amount of recycled content;

• Redirecting subsidies from the plummeting petrochemical sector towards clean energy, which will also result in the creation of more jobs;

• Supporting the equitable transition of workers in oil and gas by providing stimulus funding for training, education, and employment in low-carbon sectors;

• Establishing the infrastructure for clean water in Indigenous communities across Canada that currently do not have access to potable water. This is not only a human right that is essential for mitigating this pandemic, this will also aid in lowering the need for people in need to rely on plastic bottled water.

Despite this uncertain and unpredictable time of CV-19, zero waste lifestyles and the circular economy will only continue to have relevance and gain momentum as they are necessary for the low carbon future that will support a resilient economy and the long-term health of current and future Canadians. We need to remember and take action on the reality that when we return to normal following the pandemic, we will still be in a plastics and climate crisis. As Naomi Klein stated, “normal is a crisis,” and we need to continue to prioritize environmental protection and regeneration as part of a just recovery. Before us is the most critical opportunity to address the plastics, climate, and environmental crisis at large, which also happens to be a strong line of defence against future pandemics.