Canada will ban some single-use plastics by the end of 2021, and the federal government has released a list of the six plastic items that you can kiss goodbye to in the coming year.

On Wednesday, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson said that the banned items were chosen based on three key criteria.

Plastics on the list are harmful in the environment, difficult and/or costly to recycle, and there are readily available alternatives to replace them.

Single-use plastics that will be banned include:

• plastic checkout bags
• straws
• stir sticks
• six-pack rings
• cutlery
• food ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics

Wilkinson added that stores such as Canadian Tire and Loblaws will be providing alternatives to the banned single-use plastics (e.g. paper bags instead of plastic).

He also said that the federal government will be working with companies to improve the recyclability of plastics such as coffee cups and coffee cup lids.

Government of Canada releases preliminary list of single-use products they plan to ban:
Grocery bags
Stir sticks
Six-pack rings
Plastics utensils
Some food ware
Plastic straws
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"Together, through our collective efforts, we can — and will — create a greener, more sustainable and more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren," Wilkinson said.

Canadians currently throw away about 3 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, which is equivalent to 570 full garbage bags of plastic every minute of every day.