Peggy Revell
Looking to
bring district
on board
The Township of Emo is looking to ban single-use plastic bags with a proposed bylaw.
“I think it’s a good idea, I think it’s the way of the future,” said Emo Mayor Vincent Sheppard, noting the move to ban plastic bags in the township coincides with its efforts to improve recycling and “go green.”
Under the proposed ban, Emo retailers would not be permitted to give away or sell plastic shopping bags intended for single use.
A person caught contravening this bylaw could be fined up to $1,000. And if a contravention continues, each separate day counts as a separate offence.
There are exemptions, such as small plastic bags that are used to store non-packaged goods like dairy products; fruit, vegetables, or nuts; confectionery items; cooked foods (hot or cold); ice; smaller bags for fresh meat, fish, candy, and poultry; and bags that cost more than $1.50.
Part of the reason for the ban comes from the “mess” at the Emo landfill—with bags flying “all over the place,” explained Coun. Vern Thompson.
The proposed bylaw notes that bags are a “visible component” of litter throughout Emo, the negative impact they have on wildlife habitat and environment, as well as the “significant cost” the township incurs to clean up the bags each year.
The ban would not be immediate, Coun. Thompson stressed, noting the township would be consulting with local retailers for when they run out of their current bags.
But the success of the ban will depend on other municipalities coming on board, especially Fort Frances.
“Anybody that goes to town to buy to groceries, whether Safeway or Wal-Mart, they’re all bringing those bags back to Emo,” Coun. Thompson reasoned.
Emo has sent its bylaw to the Town of Fort Frances, where it currently is being reviewed by the Operations and Facilities executive committee for its recommendation.
If Fort Frances chooses to go with a bag ban, then Emo can set a date for when it will begin there, Coun. Thompson said.
“It will all depend now on what Fort Frances decides because if we can’t get them on the same timeline, then we’re just fighting a dead one,” he remarked.
“Personally, I support what Emo is doing,” said Fort Frances Coun. Andrew Hallikas, though stressing that this is his own opinion.
Coun. Hallikas noted at this point, using fabric bags instead of the plastic ones is a personal choice. But a ban also would bring up the issues of the environment to manufacturing the plastic vs. fabric ones, and the need for education.
“Personally speaking, I tend to be fairly environmentally conscious, so I really would like us to cut down on the amount of plastic we generate and fire off to the landfill, where it flies around and it doesn’t decompose,” Coun. Hallikas said, adding he feels the same way about bottled water.
“It needs to be a district thing,” he agreed. “One community can’t just go it alone.
“For anything to come out of this, [it needs] co-operation with the entire district.”
Meanwhile, Dan Loney, co-owner of Cloverleaf Family Foods in Emo, said he is 100 percent behind the ban.
“There’s no need for all that plastic,” he stressed, adding most people are pro-waste reduction and being “green” is in these days—and for a good reason.
“You take a ride out to our garbage dump and there’s plastic bags flying all over the place,” Loney noted.
For Cloverleaf, a plastic bag ban also would mean a reduction in costs, Loney added, saying the store probably spends $200 a week on plastic bags.
One problem when it comes to fabric bags, however, is that people often forget them at home—something Cloverleaf is working on a solution for.
“One thing that we’ve looked at and we’ve thought about is—and we’re close to maybe doing it anyway—is just having a deposit on a cloth bag,” Loney said.
The deposit could be cheap—like 50 cents per bag—so even if people forget their own bags, they can use the fabric bags and then bring them all back to exchange or get a refund.
“I think that would work,” Loney remarked. “That’s the way we should go, and maybe do that as a community and who knows?”
Loney also hopes the rest of the district will come on board.
“It would be easier, right?” he reasoned. “[And] I think it would be a real attention-getting concept for the Rainy River District if we all went [along with the ban].
“That would get headlines across the country probably.”
Emo isn’t the first municipality in Northwestern Ontario to take a step towards banning plastic bags. Sioux Lookout passed a bylaw last September that would see plastic bags banned there following a one-year phase-in period.
Meanwhile, the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association adopted a resolution back in April asking that the province enact legislation that would ban the distribution of these plastic bags.
As well, NOMA currently has a resolution before it calling on its municipalities to ban the bags.
Waste reduction
Coun. Thompson also noted the move to ban plastic bags comes as a part of the township’s drive to improve on waste reduction as a whole.
“We’re trying to get set up a recycling depot down by our town garage, where we’ll have spots to put cardboard, #1 plastics, #2 plastics, aluminum cans, tin cans, newspapers—all that kind of stuff,” he said.
There is recycling available for residents right now as the township contracts out to Asselins. But while many people use it, there are still many who don’t.
One of the big reasons for the township wanting to take over the recycling is to extend the life of the landfill.
“We want to get this stuff out of there,” Coun. Thompson said about the cardboard, plastic bottles, and other items which still are ending up in the dump.
The township has a market for newspaper and cardboard across the river, as well as aluminium, he noted, although they’re still looking for some other markets for plastics.
“We’re hoping somewhere along the line it’s going to help offset the costs,” Coun. Thompson added.
“We pay Asselins so much to have those bins sit there—so I was hoping we could incorporate that cost back into hiring somebody to clean out and divert the stuff from the dump,” he explained.
The township’s dump site currently is undergoing a second Environmental Assessment. Once this is completed, Emo will be able to apply for grants, which can be used towards improving the recycling program and buy new items such as a new compactor.
The plastic bag ban, as well as the move to increase recycling, also will come with an education program for residents to encourage waste reduction, Coun. Thompson said.
“We do recycle, but we’re just trying to get everybody to recycle,” he remarked.
“Maybe in a few years, we can have a blue box again, I don’t know,” he mused.
