TIME FOR NEW APPROACH TO OUR GARBAGE

British Prime Minister Theresa May wants all members of the Commonwealth to ban single-use plastics in the name of keeping our oceans clean. Thankfully, Justin Trudeau didn’t rush to sign up for the endeavour, which consists of the U.K. eliminating plastic straws, cotton swabs and other single-use items by 2042.

Although our PM is clearly watching with a keen eye. Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna said in a statement that “the government of Canada will develop an approach to keep plastics within the economy and out of landfills and the environment.”

While we’re no fan of elaborate schemes like carbon taxes, we encourage all Canadians to manage their waste and consumption with a view to maintaining our environment.

May’s proposal was partially spurred by British outrage over news reports on plastic waste making its way into the world’s oceans.

But her idea misses a big part of the waste management equation. We first need to ask: why is our waste even appearing in oceans in the first place? Yes, it’s from litter. It’s being washed out to sea from coastline cities. But it’s falling or being dumped off of vessels shipping waste from one country to another.

We’re sending our plastic bags and bottles by truck, train and cargo ship halfway around the world, which also has an environmental impact.

North America has been sending much of its waste to China over the years. Now China is shutting its doors, placing exceedingly tight restrictions on what it’ll accept.

We need to consider ways to better deal with our waste at home, including banning shipping recyclables outside our borders and using trash as fuel for power generation.

Canadian provinces could become leaders in clean energy incineration. Sweden, for example, converts half of all household waste into energy.

The endeavour has proven so successful and profitable for the Swedes they now import millions of tonnes of waste from other European countries.

Instead of dumping our trash in places like China, we could keep it here and benefit from it.

Trudeau is a vocal advocate of green initiatives, but he focuses heavily on global schemes like the Paris agreement. Meanwhile, there are innovative projects we could pursue at home on our own terms.