Plastic checkout bag ban takes effect in Regina
Global News
Councillor Bob Hawkins says there's been "remarkably little resistance" to the plastic bag ban.
Regina’s Plastic Checkout Bag Ban Bylaw is in effect. As of Feb. 1, grocers, restaurants, retailers and more are banned from handing out plastic bags at the checkout.
“It’s been a long time coming and in the pandemic this is a ray of good news,” said Ward 2 Councillor Bob Hawkins, who spearheaded initial discussions around the idea of a ban back in 2020.
“It’ll be good for the environment, it’ll be good for the landfill, it’ll stop litter, so it’s a good news story.”
Hawkins added that there has been “remarkably little resistance” to the bylaw from Regina community members, which the city estimates use 200-300 plastic grocery bags per year on average.
“We had questions. We spent a year answering those questions,” said Hawkins.
“Some of the major businesses have switched to abandoning single use bags quite quickly, and as the years go on we’ve noticed more and more people bringing their own carry bags and using paper bags. Many people remember — you have to go back a little ways — but we never used plastic bags. There were many other ways to carry goods around.”
Shoppers at some large grocery stores in Regina, such as Sobeys’ chains Freshco and Safeway, may have noticed plastic grocery bags have already disappeared from tills.
A member of Envirocollective, a local advocacy group that has supported the bylaw from its early stages, said he hopes the ban enactment can kickstart greater environmental stewardship in Regina.
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