After the federal government announced it will soon ban companies from importing or making plastic bags and take-out containers by the end of 2022, some Montreal restaurant owners are trying to figure what it means for them.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced Monday that Canada will also ban companies from exporting some single-use plastics by the end of 2025.

Many restaurants have already started making the move to biodegradable straws and cardboard take-out containers, but by December 2023 all of their single-use items will have to be plastic-free under the new rules.

"We have to change, we have to evolve. If we want to save this planet we have to change," said William Gogas, owner of Lafayette Hot Dog in the city's Gay Village.

Bags, cutlery, take-out containers, ring carriers for a 6-pack, and stir sticks will all have to go. Straws fall under the new regulations with some exceptions for medical and accessibility needs.

Gogas welcomes the changes but doesn't know where eco-friendly options will come from.

"We haven't pursued, searched or checked out who has the best price. Frankly, we don't have the time," Gogas said.

17 BILLION SINGLE-USE PLASTICS PER YEAR

The announcement will result in up to 33 billion units of single-use plastics staying out of the market annually, according to Anthony Merante, an expert on single-use plastic policy with ocean conservation advocacy group, Oceana Canada.

"We’re a country of 38 million people, but we produce 17 billion … single-use plastic bags a year. That’s nothing to look away from," said Merante. These are big impacts and system-wide changes."

Canada produces about 4 million tonnes of plastic a year and of that, only 8 per cent is recycled.

According to Greenpeace Canada, the items about to be banned only make up 5 per cent of Canada's plastic waste from 2019.

Because of this, Merante says we eventually need to address a culture of waste.

"It’s not going to be an easy break-up with single-use plastic. A lot of generations like myself as a millennial or Gen Z have only ever known single-use plastic around us," he said.

"But this isn’t a 100-year problem, it only came to rise in the 70s and 80s, so we have to start thinking about going back to the way things used to be."

For Gogas, he said he’s still recovering from the mass exodus of restaurant staff during the pandemic, which means keeping his business running with a bare-bones crew is his top priority.

"Staff is our biggest preoccupation right now," he said. "Oh my, we're about 40 per cent short-staffed."

Rising inflation and staff shortages have already raised menu prices. Gogas said if plastic-free items end up being an expensive move, it will ultimately be a cost the customer will eat up.