(MONTRÉAL) – In reaction to the federal government’s announcement of an investment of $49 million to Calgary-based Inter Pipeline, to turn Alberta propane into plastic pellets for the manufacture of consumer products, Sarah King Greenpeace Canada’s Head of Oceans & Plastics Campaign said:      
“It’s hypocritical for the federal government to claim it’s committed to reducing plastic waste and pollution, yet provide multimillion-dollar grants to the companies that produce the plastic in the first place. If this government truly wanted to tackle this plastics crisis, it would put its money where its mouth is and invest these taxpayer dollars into funding innovation of new delivery and refill and reuse systems using plastic-free product packaging instead of adding more plastic into the system. 

It’s obvious that investing in producing more plastic offsets any progress towards a solution. We generate so much plastic waste that in recent years we’ve had to export upwards of half of it to other countries. Now many are closing their doors tired of being dumping grounds for Canada’s plastic problem. The only way to reduce waste and curb pollution is to stop producing the destructive products in the first place and ban some of the most problematic single-use plastics to reduce our impact on our oceans.” 

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For more information, please contact:
Philippa Duchastel de Montrouge, Communications Officer, Greenpeace Canada, pduchast@greenpeace.org; +1 (514) 929-8227