Vancouver Bans Plastic Straws & Polystyrene

Vancouver will ban plastic straws and polystyrene products.

As part of their zero-waste strategy, the City will ban plastic straws, foam take-out containers, and cups

In a Council Meeting on Wednesday the City says the ban will go into effect on June 1, 2019.

The City also has a Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy. This includes actions from now until the year 2025 to reduce waste from:

• Plastic and paper shopping bags

• Polystyrene foam cups and take-out containers

• Disposable hot and cold drink cups

• Take-out food containers

• Disposable straws and utensils

In Vancouver, there are 2.6 million plastic-lined paper cups and two million plastic bags discarded every week.

Not only is Polystyrene bad for the environment, but, Polystyrene contains the toxic substances Styrene and Benzene, suspected carcinogens and neurotoxins that are hazardous to humans.

Hot foods and liquids actually start a partial breakdown of the Styrofoam, causing some toxins to be absorbed into our bloodstream and tissue.