The call to ban plastic bags in Whistler is making strides,
despite the fact that local governments in B.C. don’t have the authority to ban
them under the Local Government Act — although local governments are
campaigning to change that.
Kiran Pal-Pross is directing the campaign against plastic bags
for the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE). She
says more businesses are open to the idea of a voluntary ban, and some have
already taken steps.
“Recently I went to the Chamber of Commerce, who expressed
interest in helping out with a zero waste initiative which actually encompasses
far more than just the plastic bags, so we’re happy about that,” said
Pal-Pross.
“A lot of businesses have already started their own
initiatives. For one, the Delta is handing out reusable bags to guests. Samurai
Sushi is collecting 15 cents a bag for takeout, and say that people are now
using far fewer plastic bags. (The grocery stores) have reusable bags
available, and Lush has started a campaign, part of an international campaign,
to get rid of bags.”
Pal-Pross is also encouraged by news out of other communities
that have, or are in the process of banning plastic bags.
The first was Leaf Rapids in Manitoba, a town of 500 residents.
Other communities weighing bans include Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax, while
Toronto is imposing a five-cent per bag fee in co-operation with grocery store
chains.
Municipalities in B.C. don’t have the legal jurisdiction to ban
plastic bags, so towns are trying voluntary bans. Rossland has already lowered
its use of bags by 75 per cent, and eight other municipalities in the province
are considering or adopting similar voluntary bans, including Tofino, Ucluelet,
Maple Ridge, North Vancouver, Vancouver and Whistler.
Nicolette Brinkhoff, environmental coordinator for the Resort
Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), is looking at a voluntary program that could
be presented to council in an administrator’s report in the next two months.
“The most important thing is to engage community members so
they understand the reason why plastic bags and plastic in general is not good
for communities, for health or the environment… and see if we can propose
viable alternatives to plastic bags and excess plastic packaging.”
The visual impact on the environment is one reason, and the
fact that the bags take hundreds of years to break down into the environment.
They clog storm drains and waterways, choke animals that mistake bags and
pieces of bags as food. And recent studies suggest that chemicals in plastic
may have a “gender bending” effect by mimicking estrogen, while also putting
people at increased risk of diseases like breast cancer or heart disease.
Brinkhoff thinks it is possible to change behaviour.
“Plastics are still relatively new, they only came into use in
the ’30s and it was hard to convince people to use plastics back then,” she
said. “They changed that attitude, and we can change that attitude again.”
Pal-Pross’s campaign is also looking at improving the way we
source reusable bags, preferring to reuse materials or source materials and
labour locally. For example, she’s looking at making reusable bags from
materials like tents that were abandoned after the Pemberton Music Festival, or
public art banners that are being stored by the municipality.
“We also need to stop purchasing reusable bags. I think I have
eight now and I don’t need eight,” said Pal-Pross. “We have to watch where they’re
made, whether they’re made overseas, or from polyester. We should be sourcing
the materials close to home, or reuse materials where possible.”
Canadians use roughly 10 billion plastic bags a year, according to 2007 statistics, and more than 500 billion bags are used worldwide.
