Municipalities find the convenience of single-use carryout shopping bags has become an inconvenience to the environment.
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| According to EngageNL.ca’s background information, all
plastic products, such as shopping bags and straws, "are estimated to make up 43% of marine litter worldwide." Melissa Wong/My Online Journalism Blog |
My Online Journalism Blog
Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) has
been trying to ban single-use carryout plastic shopping bags for four years.
Tony Ronald Keats is serving his fifth term as the mayor
of Dover since 1996 and he is the president of MNL.
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| Tony
Ronald Keats, the president
of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) and the mayor of Dover. MNL is an umbrella organization formed in 1951 and represents 276 municipalities on the island. Submitted Photo |
In 2019, he was re-elected as the president for MNL.
MNL represents 275 incorporated municipalities in the province that services 89
percent of the population, with more than 2,000 leaders.
Keats has led the organization for three of the four
years that MNL has been trying to ban single-use carryout plastic shopping bags
used in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) that have littered the landscape for
years.
The provincial government has debated banning
single-use carryout plastic shopping bags, but what they are really trying to
ban is excessive single-use packaging because the goal is not to replace millions
of plastic bags in the landfills with millions of paper bags or carry out
packaging that endangers the environment.
"We leave something for our kids and our
grandchildren," Keats said. "You know that… (and) better than we
received actually, that's what we want to do… I think everyone wants to do
that."
Heeding the call
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| Sheilagh
O'Leary is the deputy mayor for the City of St. John's, an elected representative in the municipal government. O'Leary deals with constituency issues, policy development, infrastructure,planning, environment and heritage tourism. Submitted Photo |
It was during the general meeting in 2015, that the
MNL decided a plastic bag that was only used once and takes a long time to break
down, should not be used.
According to O'Leary, in 2015 town councillor, Joe
Butler, from Portugal Cove-St. Phillips put forward a resolution called the
"Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags".
The resolution read:
"Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador requested the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to prohibit all retail stores from providing customers with single-use plastic carryout (shopping) bags EXCEPT those which are compostable, biodegradable, or photodegradable"
The MNL adopted the resolution and later changed it
after learning, from the Environment and Sustainability Committee, compostable,
biodegradable, or photodegradable single-use plastic bags would also break down
into microplastics with long-lasting effects on the environment.
According to Keats, microplastics ends up in
ecosystems such as wildlife, fish and humans.
MNL’s object was to ban all single-use plastic
carryout shopping bags.
Big talk, no action
On Sept. 12, 2016, MNL sent a letter, supported by the
City of St. John's and Corner Brook, to the Ministers of Municipal Affairs and
Environment and Climate Change which asked to create a committee on the banning
of plastic bags.
According to O'Leary, a non-profit organization called
the East Coast Trail Association built walking trails; one of their hiking
trails happened to be under the City of St. John's landfill. The wind blew
plastic bags outside of the Robin Hood Bay landfill into the trees on the East
Coast Trail. It was then that the East Coast Trail Association became advocates
for "eradicating" plastic bags.
On Sept. 20 and 21, 2016, journalists were alerted to
the plastic bags on the trail and the news story promoted MNL's cause to ban
single-use shopping bags.
The area became known as "the plastic bag
forest," O'Leary said.
An in-depth report was completed in 2017 on the issue
and the 2015 resolution expired without any action from the provincial government.
In 2017, former vice-president, Keats, became MNL’s president
and was re-elected in 2018 and 2019.
According to O'Leary, Torbay mayor, Craig Scott tabled
the issue to keep the resolution alive, with 84% of the members supported the
motion.
"In 2017," Keats said. "We have another
resolution that came forward regarding the plastic bag ban… which we have been
advocating ever since even since it came across our organization.
"We have been advocating on the provincial and
federal government so just recently we had a meeting with the new minister
Graham Letto on the topic," Keats added.
What they are doing now?
According to O'Leary, MNL formed subcommittees to help
prove that it’s something the public wanted and needed, for the environment.
They have researched the issue, found statistics about the cost of bags and
resources for cleaning up the landfill.
"We are working with the Canadian Council
Ministers of the Environment to reduce plastic waste as committed in the Ocean
Plastics Waste Charter which was brought in at the G7 Summit in June
2018," Graham Letto, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment said.
"The Charter was signed by five out of the seven countries Canada, France,
Germany, Italy and the European Union while the US and Japan did not… As a
province, we are part of that we're part of that so that includes the whole
plastic stream of which plastic bags are just a minor part"
MNL attended a meeting Sept. 24, 2018, at the
Confederation Building with 26 stakeholders such as the provincial government,
Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, MNL, regional service boards, landfill
representatives, Retail Council of Canada, Canadian Plastics Industry
Association and Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"I wasn't part of that meeting," said Letto.
"It was done by the previous minister, but I understand it was here in the
Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment."
The meeting concluded with the decision to research public
opinion to determine a "potential approach." A survey called the
"Reduction in Plastic Retail Bag Use" was posted on the provincial
government’s website, EngageNL.ca, and ran until March 27, 2019.
"I am a new minister (of Municipal Affairs and
Environment) I don't want to go out and be making ah, making a provincial ban
without getting all the information I need; that is what I am doing at this
point," Letto said. "I am not ready to make that decision, we have
not gotten all the information that I need and ah, but we are getting close and…
not everybody agrees with this."
"Not everybody agrees with this"
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| Jim
Cormier, director for the Retail Council of Canada in Atlantic Canada, he said he is "the voice" for Atlantic Canada's retail sector. The Retail Council is an industry association representing its 45,000 members who are small independent retailers and larger retailers. Submitted Photo |
He said NL could try to reach "reduction targets"
set by the provincial government. Big and small retailers could create their
own solutions and ways to meet those targets, like in Ontario, Manitoba and
parts of Quebec.
It is "a minor part of the overall solid waste
issue that they have in Newfoundland and Labrador," Cormier said. And he added
it won't solve litter and the plastic packaging issues.
According to EngageNL.ca's background information
included for the survey, in NL, plastic bags only make-up 1% of the weight of
household waste annually and 6% of larger litter on roads.
"We have been hearing that too," Keats said.
"Why plastic bags? I think we need to start somewhere… and I think to be
honest with you that is the easier place we can start.
"We are in favour of getting rid of a lot of plastics
that are in our system," Keats added. "Especially when they break
down (into microplastics) but plastic bags right now. (It) is the resolution
that was brought forward. It is the one we are working towards for our
members."
After four years what will change?
MNL members planned their
third social media event #BanTheBag day of action was on March 11, 2019.
O’Leary
said the MNL are waiting for the province to make an announcement about this
issue.
"I
think that we'll know very soon,” O’Leary said. “I think that the word is that
I'm hearing around is that this will get announced within the next week or two…
so stay tuned."
In March 2019, Letto did make an announcement. It was that the government was starting another round of public consultations before going ahead with legislation.
In March 2019, Letto did make an announcement. It was that the government was starting another round of public consultations before going ahead with legislation.
"We
have heard the calls for a ban,” Letto stated in a news release, on March 5,
2019. “We are continuing to work with the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board and
stakeholder groups on the potential implications of a ban."
After
four years, on April 9, 2019, NL became Canada’s second provincial government
to introduced legislation, allowing it to ban plastic shopping bags being used
at all retail outlets.
To
give everyone time to adjust, the ban will not happen right away. Like
Prince Edward Island who passed a similar ban last June, their ban was delayed
until July 1, 2019.
"Lobbying is effective," O'Leary said.
"If you have the correct data and you have the support of the public…
eventually, you will win."
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©Melissa Wong
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