Bag bylaws in Iqaluit, Whitehorse 'not a win for anybody': plastics industry
01.10.2008 13:02
Shopping
- Source: cbc.ca
A proposal to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in Iqaluit, and another plan to charge for the bags in Whitehorse, are both misguided efforts to save the environment, according to a national plastics industry group. Councils in the two northern cities are considering proposals to cut down on the number of plastic bags littering their streets and cluttering their landfills. "Implementing a tax or a ban is not a win for anybody," Craig Foster, a spokesman for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, told CBC News on Tuesday. Iqaluit city council began looking at a bag ban last week. If passed, it would take effect in April and prohibit retailers from offering customers plastic bags, except when packaging fish, meat and unwrapped produce. Councillors in the Yukon capital are looking at a proposal to impose a territory-wide fee on each plastic bag issued to consumers, similar to fees currently levied on pop cans and juice containers. Foster said plastic was introduced as an environmental alternative to paper three decades ago, and argued that plastic is still a "greener" option today, compared to paper bags. "From an environmental perspective, it still has a very solid place," he said. "It does a heck of a job: it's very light-weight, carries many times its own weight, it's inert, it doesn't create greenhouse gases, it doesn't create a whole series of environmental issues." Paper, Foster argued, is more intensive to produce, and it releases greenhouse gases at the landfill. "When we have organic material, paper or whatever break down, we wind up generating [carbon dioxide] at the very least from it," he said. Iqaluit's bylaw allows paper bags to be used as an alternative, and both cities are encouraging shoppers to use reuseable cloth bags. And if both cities want to reduce waste going to the landfill, the plastics association agreed that using cloth bags is the best way to achieve that. RelatedInternal LinksProposed plastic bag ban 'a great day for Iqaluit': activistConsumer HeadlinesMelamine found in more Chinese milkChinese officials have detected unacceptable levels of melamine in 31 more batches of milk powder, according a government website on Wednesday and advised the public to stop consuming certain products.Hollywood aims to block DVD copying softwareHollywood's six major movie studios on Tuesday sued RealNetworks Inc. to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that they said would allow consumers to "rent, rip and return" movies or even copy friends' DVD collections outright.Website, phones jammed on Day 1 of do-not-call list registrationSo many people were trying to sign up their phone numbers Tuesday on the first day of registration for the federal do-not-call list, the website crashed at one point and the phone lines were busy.Decline in new listings brings balance to real estate market: CREAThe number of homes listed for sale across Canada fell in August, indicating the real estate market has reached a comfortable balance, show figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association.No trigger for a Canadian house price crash: CIBC economistCanadians haven't put themselves deep enough in debt to cause a U.S.-style housing market bust, a CIBC World Markets economist says. Consumer Life FeaturesAUTOSBargain huntingCars worth a second lookISSUE WATCHTelecomThe non-debate over your wireless billsSAFETYRecalls and AdvisoriesECONOMICSFinancial crisisKey participants in the U.S. bailout bidBLOGFood BytesCOMM-ODDITIESMoneyBillions of possibilitiesPeople who read this also read …
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