Below, we look at a few recent environmental developments (federal and provincial). In our blogs, we often refer back to previous blogs we have written on a similar topic. If you would like to look for a specific topic that we may have covered in a past blog, you can use the search function, which is on the right-hand side of our blog page.
Certain Plastics Banned in Canada
As mentioned in our January 12, 2022, blog (The Complexity of Canada’s Plastics Ban), the Canadian Government is moving forward with the ban on certain types of plastic.
The News Release on June 20, 2022, from the Government of Canada made the ban official:
“The ban on the manufacture and import of these harmful single-use plastics, barring a few targeted exceptions to recognize specific cases, will come into effect in December 2022. To provide businesses in Canada with enough time to transition and to deplete their existing stocks, the sale of these items will be prohibited as of December 2023. The Government will also prohibit the export of plastics in the six categories by the end of 2025, making Canada the first among peer jurisdictions to do so internationally” (emphasis added).
The plastics that are affected by the ban include:
- checkout bags;
- cutlery;
- foodservice ware made from or containing “problematic plastics” that are hard to recycle;
- ring carriers (that hold cans or bottles);
- stir sticks; and
- straws (with some exceptions).
According to the Canadian Government, they expect the regulations to cut about three percent of the plastic waste generated in Canada over ten years.
Dragun Corporation provides environmental updates each month in our environmental newsletters (Image purchased from Shutterstock).
Opposition to Plastic Ban
Not everyone is in agreement with the pending plastics ban. On their website, Canadian Plastics has the following: “‘Canada acting alone to ban single-use plastics without coordinating with other countries will do little to move the needle on reducing plastic pollution. It will punish Canadian manufacturers and all their suppliers,’ said CME president and CEO Dennis Darby in the news release. ‘Production of these products will just move to the U.S. or to other countries and we will still have not solved the problem.’” CME is Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
Oil Release Results in $175,000 Fine
On June 16, 2022, Nova Scotia Power Incorporated was ordered to pay $175,000 after pleading guilty to one charge under the Fisheries Act. The charge is related to an oil spill into Tufts Cove that occurred in August 2018.
According to reports, approximately 24,000 litres of oil were released as a result of a corroded pipe.
According to a report in Global News, Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Jacqueline Foster said the company takes “full responsibility for this incident, which is reflected in the plea we entered.”
As a result of the conviction, Nova Scotia Power’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.
As is often the case with environmental violations, the incident is likely due to human error or a maintenance issue. This is similar to a recent release of gasoline that was in the news in the fall of 2021. In that case, a manufacturing company had a pipe that leaked gasoline into the nearby sewer system that impacted local residents.
Routine inspections, testing, and maintenance can go a long way in avoiding much larger environmental issues.
Blue-Green Algae Blooms
It is that time of year again when health officials are keeping watch for possible blue-green algae (aka cyanobacteria) blooms. As if “on cue,” July 4th, Public Health Sudbury & Districts (Ontario) is investigating a possible blue-green algal bloom at Moonlight Beach on Ramsey Lake in Sudbury.
The presence of cyanobacteria can be a human health threat. According to Health Canada, “Direct contact with cyanobacteria cells has been known to cause irritation of varying severity, although the exact mechanisms for this are not fully understood. Allergic reactions are more commonly reported in sensitive individuals. It has been suggested that the irritations are due to unknown cyanobacterial components, separate from the toxins (Chorus and Bartram, 1999). Bathing suits and wet suits may also exacerbate the potential for skin irritations by trapping the cells and then disrupting their contents as a result of the friction created between the suit material and the user’s skin (Chorus and Bartram, 1999).”
Finding the Source of Nutrient Pollution
The cyanobacteria blooms typically form where the water conditions are favourable such as in warm, slow-moving waters that are rich in nutrients. These nutrients can come from fertilizer runoff or septic tank overflows. For a brief look at how we drill down to help identify the source of one of the common nutrients, nitrates, see our short video, Isotopes Can Help Determine the Source of Nitrates in Groundwater.
If you have a question or need assistance with an environmental issue, contact Christopher Paré, P.Geo. at 519-948-7300, Ext. 114.
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