By Holly Lakes for iPolitics

When a Korean cargo ship lost 35 of the shipping containers it was carrying off the coast of Tofino in November 2016, it wasn’t the federal government that sprang into action to clean up the millions of pieces of plastic along the coastline.

It was local volunteers. And it was no typical beach cleanup.

Pieces of styrofoam sat several feet deep, in the water and on land. Yellow insulation from the mangled shipping containers covered everything as it broke down — seaweed, driftwood, rocks.

“It was horrific. It looked like an environmental disaster,” says Gord Johns, NDP MP for Courtenay—Alberni. “It was in every nook and cranny.”

The usual garbage bags deployed to collect debris and trash on a beach wouldn’t do.

Given the large container pieces that washed ashore, cleaning up what the Hanjin Seattle left in its wake involved helicopters, cranes and barges supplied by locals.

“This was the largest marine debris spill. We had people doing beach cleanups and getting no support,” Johns said. “The government was invisible.”

There were promises of federal funding to compensate locals for their costs, but it never materialized. Further, while some of the damage could have been mitigated, Johns said “(the government) sat on it and did nothing.”

Locals, however, mobilized.

Community groups in his riding asked the federal government to take action. Margaret Atwood wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail, asking the same. More than 120,000 concerned citizens petitioned Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.

Last November, Johns introduced a motion, M-151, which calls on government to develop a national strategy to attack the root of the ocean-plastics problem, and helps organizations working to preserve coastal communities.

Drawing on a report from the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre, it presents seven directives to effectively remedy the problem of plastic pollution in our waters:

• Create a permanent, dedicated, and annual funding for community-led cleanup projects;

• Reduce and regulate consumer and industrial use of single-use plastics;

• Create a plan to clean up derelict fishing gear;

• Promote education and outreach campaigns on the root causes and negative environmental effects of plastic pollution;

• Extend producer responsibility; and

• Address the root problem and redesign the plastic economy.

More than 95 per cent of municipalities at the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities voted for a national strategy to address plastic pollution, followed by a similar resolution by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to support Johns’ motion.

On Monday, debate on the matter resumes.

“Canada is home to the most lakes in the world, and we have the longest coastline in the world,” Johns said. “You would expect (us to be) leaders (as) stewards for the environment and champions of protecting water, but that’s not the case. In fact, we’re lagging far behind. So many countries are taking action and showing that it can be done, in ways that still promote a vibrant economy and protect ecosystems.”

He noted that salmon ingest 90 pieces of micro-plastic — which are less than five millimetres in diameter — in their lifetimes, while all shellfish consume micro-plastics, too. In the Great Lakes, it’s estimated there are at least half a million pieces of plastic per square kilometre.

While a recent study has identified 10 rivers in Asia and Africa as the source of most of the plastic in our oceans, Johns said plenty of it originates right here in Canada.

“You don’t have to look far here. It’s horrific what we’re seeing in coastal communities,” he said. “If we don’t get on top of (the problem) right now, it could contaminate our water supply. We can’t wait any longer.”

And yet, two years ago, he said the federal government wasn’t even talking about it.

The same month residents were cleaning up the debris spill, the Liberals launched the Oceans Protection Plan, which they call a tool to improve marine safety and responsible shipping, as well as protect Canada’s marine environment.

“They keep touting (that), but selfies aren’t going to clean our beaches,” Johns said, noting it took a year for a bureaucrat to finally say there was a void in the legislation, as it made no mention of plastics in water.

“We couldn’t even identify a department to take this on until McKenna did, after a year of pressing.”

***

Since then, McKenna has been pushing for a worldwide reduction in plastic garbage. In June, the Canadian-led ocean plastics charter, which promotes sustainable management of plastic products and waste, was signed by five G7 countries in Charlevoix, Que. In September, at the G7 meeting in Halifax, the CEOs of some large companies expressed their support, as well.

Instead of trashing plastic, the charter calls for governments to set standards for increasing the reuse and recycling of the material, and for businesses to use production methods that eliminate waste through a circular economy.

Also in September, McKenna announced the federal government will ditch unnecessary single-use plastics — straws, cutlery, packaging, cups, bottles — throughout its operations, with a goal of collecting, reusing or recycling at least 75 per cent of its plastic waste by 2030. That will extend to services the government uses, such as catering and hotels.

At that same meeting, Wilkinson announced that Canada had signed on to the World Animal Protection Canada’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative, which is trying to rid the ocean of millions of tonnes of old fishing nets.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has also issued a call to small businesses for made-in-Canada innovations to: help clean up the ocean and the waterways that lead to it, minimize the impact of ghost gear, and protect marine environments and the wildlife it calls home.

Earlier this year, Canada banned micro-beads — and, last week, the country’s environment ministers said they want to see Canadians tossing 30 per cent less garbage by 2030, and 50 per cent less by 2040.

While that’s supposedly part of a national strategy to curb plastic pollution, no details on how that will happened have been offered.

Johns said such goals aren’t enough, nor is a target to recycle more by 2030.

Gord Johns, MP for Courtenay-Alberni

“What have we got? We’ve got a lot of talk. We’ve also got a lot to learn, before we tell other countries to clean up their act. We need to do something at home. ”

While the government’s ban of single-use plastics from its own facilities and through procurement is a great step, Johns wonders why the feds didn’t extend that nationwide, as the European Union has just committed to doing by 2021.

“I have a lot of questions (for the federal government),” he said. “They’re caving to pressure from the plastics and oil and gas industry (but) Canadians expect (them) to protect our water first.”

Asked about Canada following the EU’s lead, Caroline Thériault, McKenna’s director of communications, said, “At this point, we are looking at a number of approaches … to better re-use, reduce and recycle plastic pollution.”

In the U.K., McDonald’s will ditch plastic straws in its restaurants, but has made no similar commitment here. So why not, when companies like A&W have plans to?

“Here’s why: Canada is not making them (do it),” Johns said. “The polluters will keep polluting, unless the government intervenes. There will be companies who step forward and lead, but others will only do it if they have to. That’s where we come in as legislators. We’re going to make sure that those who don’t want to participate, have to.”

***

Scientists at the University of Hawaii have discovered that plastics — specially the most common single-use plastics — are directly contributing to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases.

The troubling news is that plastic production is expected to double in the next 20 years — and at current rates, most of it will never be recycled.

“We haven’t prepared ourselves to deal with the impact of plastics that take 400 or 500 years to break down,” Johns said. “We don’t have the framework, and a circular economy won’t do it.”

That’s because most plastics in the environment aren’t from people littering; it’s plastic that’s escaping the system.

“We need to reduce the amount of plastics we’re using. We want to see the government move forward with legislation and regulations that reduce plastic that’s entering the ecosystem, (by way of) debris, the industrial use of micro-plastics, and the consumer use of single-use plastics,” Johns said.

“This can’t be voluntary.”

He also wants dedicated funding to remove ghost gear from the ocean, and outreach campaigns to educate people about the damage plastic is doing.

He noted that the states of Washington, Oregon and California have “an incredible plan in place” to deal with ghost gear, and they’re removing tonnes of it from the sea.

“I don’t understand why we’re not sharing these best practices. These regulations are right next door.”

Johns said the one thing nobody talks about enough is producer responsibility.

“They’re getting a free pass right now. I can’t think of another sector that gets that that produces pollution. We need plastic in certain situations, but the volume and rate is unsustainable. We need to shift, redesign and rethink the plastic economy.”

Photo: Surfrider Pacific

Asked if government is willing to make producers and manufacturers responsible for the waste their products leave behind, Thériault replied, “We are considering a number of approaches to develop our national plastics strategy.”

Not everyone is waiting for that. The Canadian Plastics Industry Association and the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) have set targets to re-use, recycle or recover 100 per cent of plastics packaging by 2040. The groups say it’s a waste of precious resources for plastics to be used once and then landfilled.

“Industry has a role to play, and it starts with materials that are recyclable,” said Bob Masterson, president and CEO of CIAC.

“If we don’t design it to be recycled, it won’t be recycled. That’s on us.”

But he said the role of plastics is frequently misunderstood. Calling it “the miracle invention of the 20th century,” Masterson said plastic has made many things possible, including lighter packaging for groceries, making them cheaper to transport, and the prevention of food waste.

“When food spoils, it releases methane gas,” he said.

Moving from steel to plastic components has also created lighter, more fuel-efficient cars.

“Banning plastic is not going to help solve our (environmental) problems,” Masterson said. “In many case, it will make it worse.

“We have to be cautious. We eliminate the things we don’t like and maintain the things we do.”

***

While international shipping has grown by six per cent a year on the West Coast — and the amount of debris has grown with it — Johns said not a nickel comes from any ships in the area for environmental stewardship, or to help coastal communities deal with the pollution that’s left in their wake.

Locals clean up after the debris spill in 2016. Photo: Surfrider Pacific

Local governments are tired of absorbing the costs of cleaning up the mess. In addition to cleaning up what’s in their backyards, small communities are trying to design regulations for single-use plastics, but they’re afraid of getting slapped with industry lawsuits. Johns said they’re doing a lot of the legwork that should be coming from the top.

“The government has the opportunity to make decisions quickly that are going to have a significant impact on plastics entering our waterways. The environment minister says all the time that there’s a garbage truck of plastic going into the environment every minute.

“If she’s concerned about it, now is the time to act. What are they waiting for? What are they afraid of? Canadians are going to be very upset if the government doesn’t take action soon. They’re getting tired of the talk.”

His motion has the support of all four opposition parties. The government hasn’t said if it will support the motion or not.

“We’ll know next week.”