By Katrina Forrest, Surfrider Pacific Rim’s Zero Waste Expert

As the country announces its new single-use plastics ban, here on the Pacific Rim we continue to lead the way to a sustainable future and are delighted to announce the inclusion of polystyrene into our own single-use plastics regulations! 

With this exciting news Surfrider concludes our Forget the Foam campaign. Many heartfelt thank you’s to all the businesses that supported our efforts and to the many volunteers that helped us get this campaign off the ground! We must also commend the District of Tofino and District of Ucluelet for hearing their citizens' needs and adapting to them. 

As we know Ottawa has announced the banning of the 6 most prevalent, harmful, and easily substitutable single-use plastics nation-wide. These include plastic checkout bags, stir sticks, six pack rings, straws, cutlery, and some difficult to recycle food ware. This action is being taken in order to achieve zero plastic waste nation-wide by 2030. 

Here on the Pacific Rim we already have in-place regulations banning plastic checkout bags and straws. Next on our out list is plastic and bioplastic take-away cutlery which we are already tackling with our Cut the Cutlery campaign. 

With the help of the people, businesses, and the West Coast municipalities, the Pacific Rim has been able to lead the way to a more sustainable way of doing business. In conjunction with this, look out for Ocean Friendly Businesses in Tofino and Ucluelet, an accreditation that many businesses on the Pacific Rim have worked with us to achieve.

98% of North American businesses are small and independently owned, with the flexibility to make their own decisions, take action on climate change, and change the norm of single-use plastic pollution. We firmly believe that these businesses are in an opportune position to take leadership on these issues and we are here to support them in converting to more sustainable practices. 

Surfrider Pacific Rim supports local businesses in becoming Ocean Friendly. We individually consult businesses and learn about their operations so that we can identify new ways to reduce waste by sourcing and establishing alternative products, proper waste management techniques, and resource saving tips and tricks.45 businesses in Tofino and Ucluelet have already become registered Ocean Friendly Businesses with many more in the process of gaining registration. We register 15 businesses per year by Earth day, on April 22nd, and we’re now in our 4th year of running the Ocean Friendly Business campaign. 

 Even under the thrall of Covid, environmental stewardship has remained a priority on the West Coast. Making these changes may seem more difficult now for small businesses, or even for individuals looking to reduce household waste, but we have already embraced change gracefully and altered the way in which we work, shop, play, and socialize. 

At the onset of the pandemic we had no idea how we could go on, how we could continue to function as a society, local or global. The environmental movement which had made such headway after such an achingly slow start, seemingly came to a slamming halt. 

Do you remember the radio right before Covid hit? Everyday there was more news of this or that environmental boon. Helpful tricks for tackling waste, businesses that were converting to new methods of manufacturing, producers who were looking to utilize more sustainable materials.

All of that was lost in a second when our health and safety came into question, and rightly so. The health and safety of our loved ones, our communities, and the global community as a whole, is of utmost importance. What has become clear over the months is how connected the pandemic and environmental crisis are. It is evident that those most affected by climate change are also those most commonly affected by Covid19. For example, those with lung conditions caused by poor air quality, near industries such as plastic refineries, are most likely to suffer more serious COVID-19 symptoms.

After the initial shock of how to survive right now, we are again looking at how we can thrive long-term. The environmental crisis has stepped back into the forefront of the discussion as it has become more clear and tangible how the pandemic is connected to environmental degradation. 

Months later, the government is finally picking up where it left off. It no longer feels unethical to talk about the climate or our environment as it did at the outset, because the interconnection between these crises has become elucidated. The pandemic has perpetuated and intensified existing social injustices, which we can see systemic racism in the US and the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement to address this.

The changes we need to make have become all the more obvious, and although they are still massive, we have the benefit of having been through a reimagining of our daily lives. We have seen that we are able to alter the way in which we work. We can shift the way in which we shop, and play, and socialize.

We aren’t out of the hot water yet, but we understand change and our ability to transform in a crisis, better than we have in decades. We now know that we are able to make the necessary behavioral shifts needed to address the environmental and social crises.

So let's raise our voices in thanks to our districts and to our government and commend them for these steps taken to secure a long-lasting and healthy future, but let's ask them what’s next. We’re now looking to add plastic and bioplastic cutlery to the single-use plastics regulations upon successfully getting all businesses on board with the campaign. We’re also continuing to eradicate single-use plastic water bottles 1.5L and under from the Pacific Rim through the Take Back the Tap Campaign, supporting businesses in designing this item out of their operations. It is particularly poignant to remove this massive source of waste as plastic water bottles are one of the most common consumer items found polluting the shorelines in Clayoquot and Barkley Sound.

We can no longer afford to sit back and bask in our achievements, we must continuously be breaking headlines. We must continuously be pushing boundaries and removing the barriers keeping us stuck in a take-make-waste linear society.