PEI could be the first province in Canada to ban plastic bags

Jun 12 2018, 1:30 am

PEI could be the first province in Canada to ban plastic bags.

The Plastic Bag Reduction Act, introduced by Liberal MLA Allen Roach, passed its third reading last week.

The act proposes that all plastic bags —including those made out of biodegradable plastic and compostable bags— be banned from retailers.

The ban would work in phases to eventually eliminate the single-use plastic bags from shops—encouraging them to use paper and cloth bags instead.

The first phase would begin on July 1, 2018, and retailers would start charging 15 cents per bag. In July 2019, the price would increase to 25 cents. The complete ban would come into effect in January 2020 and businesses would be subject to fines if they chose to continue giving customers plastic bags.

While PEI would be the first Canadian province to ban single-use plastics, other Canadian cities and retailers have already taken initiative.

Last week, A&W and Ikea announced their plan to eliminate all plastic straws from their stores.

In January, Montreal introduced a city-wide ban on all plastic bags in stores.

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