Scholarship at UWindsor

Potential Effects of Single Use Plastics Ban on Ontario Manufacturers

Windsor, Ontario

During the past few decades, plastics pollution has become a global concern. Governments are striving to find the best way to reduce plastics consumption and waste. The Government of Canada has proposed a ban on single-use plastics to be implemented in 2021, a potentially disruptive public policy. Many studies have been conducted on the environmental impacts of plastics and the benefits of a plastics ban, but little has been written about the potential effects of these policies on plastics manufacturers. An economic model was developed to analyze the effects on Ontario single use plastics manufacturers. Results of the model show that most plastics manufacturers would be able to recover their investments within three years for the costs of converting to an alternative material. However, there is an aggregated cost on manufacturers of approximately $262 million for the first three years. Additionally, a small number of specialized manufacturers would not be able to recover from the ban, potentially leading to some job losses. Overall, however, the results indicate that manufacturers would be able to adjust to the ban in the longer-term, providing for the environmental benefits of reduced plastics consumption and waste.