Canada's single-use plastics rules: what packaging producers need

As of September 2026, Canada's Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations are in force. They ban the manufacture, import and sale of six plastic items, including checkout bags, straws and certain foodservice ware, and since December 20, 2025 their export too. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the underlying toxic listing in January 2026; a Supreme Court leave application was pending.

The six items and the dates

The regulations (SOR/2022-138) cover checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) lists the dates below.

Item	Manufacture and import banned	Sale banned	Export banned
Checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks, straws	December 20, 2022	December 20, 2023	December 20, 2025
Ring carriers	June 20, 2023	June 20, 2024	December 20, 2025
Flexible straws packaged with beverages	Not applicable	June 20, 2024	December 20, 2025

With the export ban in force, a Canadian plant can no longer make these items for foreign customers either. ECCC notes that single-use plastic flexible straws not packaged with beverage containers are excluded under certain conditions, set out in its fact sheet on flexible straw exceptions.

What the definitions actually catch

The practical impact on a producer depends on the definitions in the regulations, not on the headline list.

• Checkout bags. A checkout bag is a plastic manufactured item, made entirely or in part from plastic, shaped as a bag designed to carry purchased goods from a business. A plastic bag is outside the ban only if it passes durability tests in the regulations. For fabric bags that includes carrying 10 kg over 53 m 100 times and surviving washing under ISO 6330; other bags must also pass the carrying test.
• Foodservice ware. Clamshells, lidded containers, boxes, cups, plates and bowls are covered only when made from expanded or extruded polystyrene foam, polyvinyl chloride, plastic containing carbon black pigment, or oxo-degradable plastic.
• Straws. The straw definition targets plastic drinking straws, including those that change physical properties after 100 cycles in a household dishwasher.

The regulations do not name paper products with a plastic lining. On a plain reading, a PE-coated paper cup or plate is not made from the listed problem plastics. That is our reading, not an official ruling, so confirm unusual constructions with ECCC before investing.

The court challenge, step by step

1. April 2021. The federal Cabinet adds "plastic manufactured items" to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. This listing is the legal basis for the regulations.
2. November 2023. In Responsible Plastic Use Coalition v. Canada (2023 FC 1511), the Federal Court finds the listing order unreasonable and unconstitutional and declares it invalid.
3. January 30, 2026. The Federal Court of Appeal allows the government's appeal (2026 FCA 17). It holds that plastic manufactured items are a "substance" under the Act, that the evidence supported the finding of potential harm, and that the order was valid. Its summary says the regulations remain valid.
4. March 31, 2026. The Responsible Plastic Use Coalition, Dow Chemical Canada, Imperial Oil and Nova Chemicals apply to the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal (file 42277).
5. September 2026. When we checked the Supreme Court docket, the leave application was still pending, with the latest filings dated May 2026.

If the Supreme Court refuses leave, the Federal Court of Appeal decision stands. If it grants leave, a hearing and judgment would follow, which usually takes many months. Either way, the regulations apply today, and ECCC's own page says the January 2026 decision confirms they remain enforceable.

Provincial and municipal rules

Federal rules are not the only layer. Several provinces and municipalities adopted their own rules on checkout bags or single-use items, some before the federal regulations, and some go further, for example with fees on paper bags or cups, or rules for items the federal list does not cover. These rules change more often than federal ones. If you sell into several provinces, check the current rules with each province and with the larger cities where your customers operate.

What it means for producers

Paper bag makers

Paper bags are not plastic manufactured items, so the federal ban does not apply to them, and the end of plastic checkout bags moved retail demand towards paper. The main choice is the bag style: square-bottom bags with twisted rope handles, as on the Lilin LSB-330-R, flat paper handles, as on the Oyang SMART17-AS 400, or handle-less SOS grocery and take-out bags. Our paper bag machines page compares them.

Non-woven bag makers

Non-woven polypropylene is a plastic. A non-woven checkout bag avoids the ban only if it passes the durability tests in the definition, so fabric weight, seam strength and handle attachment must be designed and tested for it. Keep test records for each bag spec. Machines such as the Zhengxin ZXL-D700 make loop-handle bags, which suit reusable designs.

Paper cup, plate and container makers

Foodservice ware is banned only in the listed materials, so paperboard cups, bowls, plates and lunch boxes are outside the federal definition on a plain reading. Watch customer specifications and provincial or municipal rules, which may target cups or containers separately. See our paper cup machines and food packaging and disposables pages.

Thermoformed food packaging

Cups, lids, trays and clamshells thermoformed from PET, PP or PLA are not made from the listed materials, so on the same plain reading they fall outside the foodservice ware definition, while containers of expanded or extruded polystyrene foam are banned. Check black packaging carefully: plastic coloured with carbon black pigment is one of the listed materials, so a black PP or PET tray can fall inside the ban. Lines such as the GN800 run PET, CPET, PP, PS and PLA; see our thermoforming machines.

Straw makers

Paper straws replace plastic straws for most food service. Confirm with your paper and adhesive suppliers, and with ECCC if needed, that your construction contains no plastic that would bring it inside the straw definition. Winders such as the Gaoda GDM-30 run standard and small diameters.

Plastic bag and film producers

Single-use plastic checkout bags can no longer be made in Canada for sale here or for export. Garbage bags, bag-on-roll products, industrial liners and film are different products and are not checkout bags under the definition. For borderline items, such as bags handed out at a counter, get a written opinion before you commit production. Our plastic film and bags page covers the machines for these markets.

Planning a new line under these rules

• Map each product you plan to make against the six definitions, not just the item names.
• Keep technical files: material specifications, durability or washing test results, and supplier declarations.
• Check provincial and municipal rules in every market you sell into.
• Follow the Supreme Court file and ECCC's page for changes.

If you are choosing between bag technologies, our comparison of paper, plastic and non-woven bag machines and the guide to starting paper packaging production are good next reads. This page summarises official sources and is not legal advice. Confirm your situation with ECCC or a lawyer.