Bill 228 was introduced by Parry-Sound Muskoka MPP Norm Miller as a way to keep polystyrene foam out of lakes and passed third reading Thursday.
That means the bill is now law in Ontario.
Now, polystyrene foam used in docks and other floating structures will have to be encapsulated so to ensure pieces don’t break off and pollute waterways. “It is almost impossible to walk along the shoreline of Georgian Bay and other large bodies of water without seeing large or small pieces of dock foam,” Miller says.
The bill was introduced by Miller in November 2020 after he was told of the damage the foam was causing to the Georgian Bay. The volunteer group Georgian Bay Forever is mentioned by Miller as a group doing work to educate people on the damage unencapsulated dock foam does. “In a survey of trash picked up by volunteers in 2019, more than 5,000 pieces of dock foam of all sizes were picked up, more than all other types of garbage combined,” Miller says.