The Federal Government of Canada is banning certified compostable bags along with plastic shopping bags even though they have organic collection facilities that are able to accept and process them with compost. However, they are allowing alternatives like paper and reusable bags which have a larger negative environmental impact and could possibly generate more waste than even traditional single-use plastics, which the government has recognized in a statement where they said “The proposed Regulations would prevent approximately 1.6 million tonnes of plastics from entering the waste stream over the analytical period, but would also add about 3.2 million tonnes of other materials to the waste stream from the use of substitutes, due to their increased unit weights relative to SUPs. This increase in tonnage of waste would represent additional costs for Municipalities and Provincial authorities, as they are usually responsible for managing the collection, transportation, and landfilling of plastic waste, and would assume most of the associated costs, which would ultimately be passed on to taxpayers.” This points to a huge gap in knowledge among policy-makers and a massive oversight regarding the life-cycle impacts of the various plastic alternatives.

Certified compostable bags (NOT to be confused with "biodegradable" bags) have been scientifically proven through peer-reviewed studies by top universities and research bodies to degrade completely, leaving no toxic residues or plastic fragments, and dissolve in marine environments as well as terrestrial, making them the perfect solution to our plastic crisis. They can be provided by retailers for carrying goods and then re-used for food scrap collection at home before being composted. With proper labelling and education, there is no better substitute to replace single-use plastic bags. Find more information and sources here: Comments With Respect to the Proposed Regulations