By Francois Macone, Radio Victoria, CILS 107.9 FM, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A major victory in the fight for the preservation of the environment. The island municipalities of Victoria, Saanich, Tofino and Ucluelet will see their drive to ban the use of single-use plastic bags officially legitimized by the province, through amendments to the Community Charter, Colombia announced on Saturday. British.
A system will be put in place to allow other municipalities to ban single-use plastics, such as shopping bags, plastic straws and cutlery, sandwich bags, stir sticks and food containers. take away in polystyrene foam, without prior notice from the province.
Victoria Regulations (2018)
Indeed, the change to the checkout bag regulations of the city of Victoria had started in July 2018 and was upheld by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, but was later overturned by the Court of Appeal of Colombia. -British following a challenge from the Canadian Plastic Bag Association.
The Court of Appeal determined that the City was required to obtain provincial approval before implementing the by-law.
Saanich plastic regulation
Saanich meanwhile sought provincial approval before introducing his own similar regulation, which was granted.
CleanBC Plastic Action Plan
The ministry received 35,000 notices of its CleanBC Plastic action plan, and responses underscored the need to move toward provincial bans on certain products.
The province also announced several other changes to British Columbia’s recycling system, including the creation of a minimum deposit of 10 cents on plastic beverage containers, including jugs of milk, and the requirement to recycling more items, like electric vehicle batteries and mattresses.
The province also wants to implement an electronic refunds system to make returns more convenient and legislate to increase packaging recycling levels in various industries and institutions.
“The province’s long-term plan appears to be a province-wide ban on single-use items, so this is great news today,” said Lisa Helps.
Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman said, “People have expressed the need to take serious action now against plastic waste and pollution and we have heard the loud and clear message “
In contrast, the government is still seeking feedback on how to better manage fishing waste, such as lost nets, which pollute the oceans and shorelines.