“Single use items are quite literally destroying oceans and forests,” said Jeh Custerra, Friends of Clayoquot Sound Campaigner. “It’s time that all levels of government stepped in to end the age of single use for the good of the climate, the planet, and the people, plants, and animals who live on it.”

Single use products – from packaging to food containers, to disposable cups and cutlery – have caused widespread damage to marine and ocean ecosystems and are responsible for mass deforestation and degradation of the world’s forests. Single use items are also a key contributor to the 2 billion tonnes of waste that humans produce every year. That number is projected to increase 70% by 2050.

“We’re depleting the very life support systems that we all need to survive, simply for the supposed convenience of single-use products,” said Tamara Stark, Campaigns Director of Canopy, one of the authoring organizations of the joint position paper. “We need to see radical change in how products are delivered to people, without the use of harmful and polluting packaging.”

Friends of Clayoquot Sound joined Canopy Planet and 188 environmental movement allies from around the world in calling for an end to single use packaging as the United Nations Environmental Assembly discusses global sustainability. The joint call “From Single Use to Systems Change”, highlights the massive impact that disposable products are having on the natural environment, wildlife, human health, and vulnerable communities and calls on leaders to bring about a much needed systemic change.

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FOCS joins members of Surfrider Pacific Rim and Ocean Legacy at our annual collaborative Hands Across the Sand action to call on the Canadian and B.C. governments to #ENDFOSSILFUELSUBSIDIES to stop the proliferation of single use plastic at the source. Photo by FOCS

Humanity produces 2 billion tonnes of waste each year and this figure is projected to increase by 70% by 2050. Single use products are a key contributor to this: when not effectively recycled, they are burned, sent to dumpsites or landfills, or simply left to degrade Earth’s ecosystems and poison Earth’s oceans.

Of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced each year, half of that goes into single use products and applications. Plastic is derived from fossil fuel extraction and manufacturing; its very production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The life cycle of paper-based single use products derived from trees is similarly devastating, and yet often under-estimated. Carbon released in the logging process contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and the removal of ancient forests eliminates the ability of those forests to continue to mitigate against the worst impacts of climate change. Each year, three billion trees are cut down to make paper packaging, and that’s projected to increase by 20% over the next five years.

Less than 10% of all the plastics ever produced has been recycled, and a mere 4% of that has been recycled back into products of the same quality as the original. When it ends up in oceans or scattered on land, plastic waste breaks down into microplastics, infinitely tiny toxic pieces that are ingested by species of all kinds, including humans, with untold health consequences. Both paper and plastics manufacturing are chemically intensive, energy-intensive, and require large amounts of water – and the reality is, eliminating the majority of single use products immediately will help conserve irreplaceable resources. To achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and in recognition of universal human rights, there needs to be a collective shift in the way we design and manufacture products to avoid waste.

We, therefore, call for an end to single use, throwaway commodities, and call for transformational change to our production, consumption and end-of-use systems to enable a truly circular economy. This will require commitments and effective collaboration from government, business, financial institutions and investors, the nonprofit-sector, and civil society. Collectively we can protect and promote sustainable care of forest and marine ecosystems to enable a circular economy supported by closed-loop regenerative economics.

We call on all relevant bodies to:

• Re-direct: public and private funds to support the start-up and scale-up of systems that support reusable products and circularity, and disincentivize continuation of single use commodities by increasing levies and taxes on those products and the systems that prop them up.
• Re-design to support:
  • Responsible material lifecycles
  • Responsible and clean production
  • Responsible consumption
• Reward innovation: to help scale-up lasting solutions.
• Reparation for damage, in particular, to Indigenous peoples and people of colour, who are often disproportionately affected by modern extractive and pollutive industries.
• Restore: degraded natural habitats that have been impacted as a result of the production and disposal of products and packaging, whilst recognizing the important role that local and Indigenous communities play in conservation and restoration.

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Toby Theriault and the students of Ucluelet Secondary and Elementary Schools at the Global Climate Strike mobilizing and inspiring the people power we need to end the era of fossil fuels and create a more just world. #YOUTHRISING – Photo by Nora O’Malley, westerlynews.ca

Post by Toby Theriault, Age 15, Grade 10 @ Ucluelet Secondary School.

“Let me tell you something adults: look around, as youth we are inspired! But we have no voice. 7 million of us and our government is still building a pipeline, the president of the United States thinks this is a hoax, and our oceans are still littered with plastic. Do you know why?

As inspired as the youth are, there are still so many things we can’t do. We should make a difference? How? We can’t vote, we don’t buy most of our own food or drive, and we definitely don’t own major corporations. Why are we expected to change the world when it’s been built on the premise that we’re too immature to make a difference? How immature can we be when we’re the only ones trying and standing up? Are we immature when 7 million of us are trying to inspire adults with votes, cars, and opinions to make a difference?

Help us to do something to save our future, we don’t want your empty words! If we all do something, there’s hope. Do it for us your children and grandchildren.”

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• Big Wins for Environmental Justice
• Salmon Solidarity Update: Washington Salmon Farm Ban & New Evictions from Coastal First Nations
• “So Many People Giving A Damn”: War in the Woods Resonates 25 Years Later
• Still No Legal Consequences For The Worst Mining Disaster In Canadian History
• BC’s Biggest GHG Emitter?

plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share!

Click here to download (PDF): FOCS Summer 2018, or find print copies at many outlets in Tofino and around BC. Contact us if you are interested in helping with distribution in your area.

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https://focs.ca/2018-summer-newsletter-is-here/

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“My name is Cypress Che Seitcher. l live on planet earth and I am Tla-o-qui- aht First Nation living in Ty-Histanis . My father, Terry Doward, is the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Coordinator. I enjoy being in the forest and building trails with him. I’m passionate about skateboarding, playing drums, guitar, and listening to music. Currently, I am going into grade 10 at Ucluelet Secondary School and I’m learning more about culture, language, and environmental issues.”

Cypress is participating in all the trail building sessions, supporting youth cultural education with Tla-quiaht First Nation, and is helping to support the summer beach cleans with Surfrider Pacific Rim.

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• Wild Salmon Paddle Launches
• Big Wins of 2015
• Tribal Parks
• FOCS Community Space

Plus updates on our campaigns, and action items for you to take forward. Take a read and please share!

Click this link to download. You can find print copies at many outlets in Tofino and around BC.

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https://focs.ca/the-summer-2016-focs-newsletter-is-here/

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