'Victoria is ahead of the game': Island groups praise Feds single-use plastic ban

The ban was announced Monday and is being celebrated on Vancouver Island, where many municipalities and businesses already have a head start.

The ban was announced Monday and is being celebrated on Vancouver Island, where many municipalities and businesses already have a head start.

The ban, which will go into effect in December 2023, includes restricting the sale of plastic cutlery, stir sticks, straws, takeout containers, checkout bags, and six-pack rings, among others.

Vancouver Island Brewing is one company that has already started a transition of its own.

"We wanted to be more environmentally conscious and we’ve shifted toward using boxes or other sorts of more rigid plastics," said Jeff Wright, marketing manager for Vancouver Island Brewing, about the company's drink packaging.

"It changes everything from the way we procure, to how we design our packaging, to how we distribute our packaging," he said.

While the ban on selling these specific types of plastics comes into effect next year, by 2025 Canadian companies will no longer be able to export them as well.

"To make these changes doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something that we’ve been planning the past few years," said Wright.

Next month, Vancouver Island Brewing is releasing a beer to support SurfRider, an environmental group that does beach cleanups in Tofino, B.C.