REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: November 19, 2018 Report No. DEV-18-084
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Tricia deMacedo, Policy Planner, and
Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Single Use Plastic Bag Reduction, Staff Report DEV-18-084End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
1. That Council direct staff to prepare a timeline, work plan and budget related to regulating retail checkout bags, using the City of Victoria's Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw (Appendix A) as a model for implementation; and
2. That Council direct staff to prepare a public engagement process related to implementation of a bylaw regulating retail checkout bags.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Community Charter
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Ensure processes for business and development are clear and consistent.
BACKGROUND:
The issue of plastic waste, especially single-use plastic items, has become a global environmental concern in the last few decades. A CRD waste audit conducted in 2016 found that overall, 14% of the region's waste is plastic1. Plastic checkout bags are just one example of the unsustainable use of plastic in our everyday lives. An average of 200-300 of these bags are used every year per person in Canada. These bags, although they can be recycled, commonly end up as landfill. They are also a common item found in litter, and pose serious environmental harm if they end up in the marine environment. Many municipalities are responding to public concern about plastic waste, and the impact it has on municipal services, by implementing strategies to curtail the use of plastic checkout bags.
The City of Victoria's new Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw (Appendix A) came into force on July 1, 2018. Since July, businesses in Victoria are not permitted to provide plastic checkout bags to customers (exceptions in section 4) and are required to charge for any paper or reusable bags that are given out. During the first 6 months of the Bylaw's imp...
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