The provincial government is asking people for feedback on how to reduce the amount of plastic waste in British Columbia.

“The message from British Columbians is loud and clear — we need to take action to reduce plastic waste,” says George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in a news release.

The BC government has proposed four strategies to reduce plastic pollution:

• Banning single-use packaging: The government would determine which kinds of plastic to phase out, with room for necessary exemptions such as packaging that is related to health and safety.
• Dramatically reducing single-use plastics in landfills and waterways: This would require producers to take more responsibility for the plastic products they use, ensuring that single-use items get recycled.
• Expanding plastic bottle and beverage container returns: This would see BC’s deposit-refund system cover a wider range of beverage containers, including milk and milk substitutes. These would be eligible for a 10-cent refundable deposit.
• Reducing plastic waste overall: This would see the provincial government support more effective ways to prevent plastic waste and ensure that recycled plastic is reused effectively.

The government is also reviewing a proposes system that would give electronic refunds for empty bottle returns.

This system, if turned into a reality, would eliminate the need to sort bottles and issue refunds electronically to either the user or to community organizations.

People are invited to participate in a survey and share their opinions online.

Feedback will be accepted until September 18, 2019.