As the one-year anniversary approaches of the City of Edmonton’s decisions to ban single use plastics, the data reflects that the use of throw-away plastic items has been reduced substantially.
On July 1, 2023, city councilors gave final approval to the rules by approving a new single-use items bylaw with 11 of 13 votes in favour.
The bylaw took an approach similar to other jurisdictions across the country and around the world. Items such as reusable or recyclable bags would come at a cost to Edmontonian, and single use plastics found in drive-thru windows would only be available upon request.
A minimum fee of 25 cents for a paper shopping bag is common in other municipalities, as lower fees have been shown to result in less effective behaviour and habitual change. A November 2023 city survey indicated Edmontonians would be more likely to bring their reusable bags for shopping and takeout as a result of higher fees.
Fees associated with the plastics ban will see an increase in July of this year. Starting July 1, the price for a paper bad will rise from 15 cents to 25 cents and new, reusable bags will go from $1 to $2.
Sean Stepchuk, director and co-founder of Waste Free Edmonton, says the increase in charges is an important contributor to the success of this program citing that paper bags still carry an impact on the environment and that the price hike will ensure reusable bags don’t become single-use.
On the other side of the fence, advocacy groups opposed the ban outlining that single-use plastics account for a fraction of waste across the globe and also argues that plastic bags aren’t bad for the environment while arguing the practicality of reusable bags.
Other municipalities have also begun assessing data resulting in reduced plastic bags by the millions according to statistics.
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