REAPS believes Ottawa is dragging its feet on single-use plastic ban

REAPS Prince George Chair Terri McClymont thinks the federal government’s potential ban on single-use plastics by 2021 should be done sooner.

It was announced earlier this week by the Liberals as they are looking to follow suit with the United Kingdom and European Union if they stay in office.

In the meantime, there are other things local residents can do to reduce their use of single-use plastics.

“Saying no to the straw, saying no the water bottle, the single-use cups and just packing our own utensils, mugs and water bottles and our own bags as those are things we are doing now,” said McClymont.

So what are some of the things we’re seeing locally to help curb the use of single-use plastics?

“We’ve been charging for plastic bags for a while now so that has people thinking whether or not they want to pay five cents when buying groceries and a lot of people are packing their own bags and a lot of times we forget the plastic bags in the car along with our travel mugs.”

“We’re seeing a lot of these plastics are ending up in our oceans and hurting our marine ecosystem and our wildlife. Plastics are still needed for different uses but there are alternatives.”

Kamloops is currently considering a ban on such plastics while places like the United Kingdom and European Union have already made the move.

According to Ottawa, there will be a public consultation but the main products on the chopping block look to be straws, cutlery, and grocery bags.