Canada's Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SOR/2022-138) ban checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws.
The regulations depend on 'plastic manufactured items' being listed as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In November 2023 the Federal Court struck down that listing as too broad, throwing the bans into doubt. On 30 January 2026 the Federal Court of Appeal reversed that decision (2026 FCA 17), ruling the listing lawful, so the bans stand. Separately, in October 2025 the government said it would not pursue the ban on exporting these items. The export ban still came into force on 20 December 2025, and a proposal to remove it, published the same day, had not become law by September 2026.
The case matters because it tested whether a national government can regulate plastic as a class of pollutant rather than item by item, a question relevant to the global treaty.
An industry group, the Responsible Plastic Use Coalition, asked the Supreme Court of Canada for permission to appeal on 31 March 2026. The judges had not decided by 26 September 2026, so the legal position is not yet final.