The City of Victoria is leading the charge against plastic shopping bags, but most of the region seems in no hurry to go along for the ride. Plastic shopping bags will be banned as of July 1, making Victoria the second large city after Montreal to make the move. Halifax is looking at following suit. Some smaller municipalities have also made the leap.
Called the Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw, the new legislation aims to reduce the number of bags that end up in landfills, on beaches and in the ocean, where they gradually break down into tiny pieces that are being eaten by marine life all over the world. The city says 17 million of them are used by Victoria residents every year.
The rules and exceptions to Victoria’s bylaw show just how ubiquitous the bags are and how much we have come to rely on them. In some cases, the rules seem downright draconian.
The general rule is: “Except as provided in this bylaw, no business shall provide a checkout bag to a customer.” That’s a sweeping statement, but the bylaw then clarifies:
“A business may provide a checkout bag to a customer only if: (a) the customer is first asked whether he or she needs a bag; (b) the bag provided is a paper bag or a reusable bag; and (c) the customer is charged a fee not less than (i) 15 cents per paper bag; and (ii) $1 per reusable bag.”
Just in case businesses or customers were in doubt, it goes on to say that a store can’t sell or give you a plastic bag, nor can it give you a paper or reusable bag for free.
And if you think the city isn’t serious, fines range from $50 to $500 for individuals and from $100 to $10,000 for corporations — for every offence or every day that it continues. Yes, that’s $10,000.
Of course, nothing is as straightforward as those rules suggest. There are exceptions, lots of them. Plastic bags or small paper bags will be permitted for loose bulk items such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains or candy; small hardware such as nuts and bolts; frozen foods, meat, poultry and fish; bakery goods not already packaged; flowers, potted plants; prepared foods; prescription drugs; live fish; protection for bed linens, bedding or any large item that can’t easily fit in a reusable bag; newspapers or other printed material left at a residence or business; and clothing after it has been professionally laundered.
While the city’s intentions are purely to save the environment, that seems like sticking the municipal nose deep into the business of retailers and consumers, right down to setting the price for bags, which, by the way, will go up again in July of next year.
Not surprisingly, the bylaw has sparked fevered debate about the extent of the plastic-bag problem and the relative green-ness of paper, plastic and reusable bags. How many times are plastic bags reused? Are our beaches really so cluttered?
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association’s website argues that most shopping bags are reused and recycled, and that other measures to reduce the number of plastic bags have been successful. But a Montreal city councillor responsible for environmental issues says only 14 per cent of the bags used are recycled.
While Victoria is forging ahead, other municipalities in the region are not yet on board, so shoppers who like their plastic can just pop across the border into Saanich. Or maybe Esquimalt, because Saanich, too, is considering a ban.
