June 10, 2019 – Today, the government of Canada announced a national ban on single-use plastics to come into effect as early as 2021 – and one Canadian company is capitalizing on the news with what it believes is the Canadian made paper straws for the restaurant industry made with Canadian pulp and paper.
Green Circle Dine Ware Ltd., owned by Geet Sheth and Wendy Serrao, started manufacturing its paper straws out of a Cambridge, Ontario facility in July 2018.
“There is a lot of awareness about paper straws – everyone is aware of how harmful the plastic is to the environment,” says Sheth. “One item that hasn’t been touched in the food industry in Canada is the plastic straw. Often there are fibre takeout containers, but there is no other alternative to plastic straws in today’s market.”
Those plastic straws may now be part of the nationwide single-use plastics ban, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Jun. 10 announcement. The government says it still finalizing the list of which items will be banned, but indicated takeout food containers will be included. Straws, cutlery and plastic bags are all on the chopping block, too – the government estimates Canadians dispose of 34 million plastic bags every year.
