A ban on single-use plastics is likely to be on City Hall’s planning committee agenda in the near future.
Councillor Kent Lindgren raised the issue last week in response to a school project he learned about from two Grade 6 students from Ecole Monseigneur Blaise Morand.
The students’ project on “changing the world” was an information booth on single-use plastics (ie. plastic bags) and its effects on the community. The students were also selling reusable bags as an alternative.
Lindgren noted many municipalities are actually eliminating single-use plastics. He suggested it would be a good topic for a future planning committee meeting to “look at that feasibility of that and what it actually means to the community, and really take leadership on this effort from Grade 6s.”
The issue of plastic bags had come up in the past year when recycler Loraas reported they weren’t accepting them anymore, because their main customer, China, was no longer accepting them.
Mayor Ryan Bater pointed out that instead of going in the blue bins, plastic bags were now going to the city’s landfill. He agreed with the idea of scheduling a meeting.
Councillor Kelli Hawtin also added her support for the idea, noting other cities across the country are implementing this type of bylaw, “so we wouldn’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel,” she said.
