In a meeting last Tuesday, county council expressed an interest in following Fort McMurray’s ban on single-use plastic bags, which are commonly used in grocery stores.
Last year, Fort McMurray passed a bylaw that prohibited the distribution of single-use shopping bags at certain commercial outlets to limit the amount of waste in their landfills.
The proposition was brought forward to Lac La Biche County Council by councillor Tim Thompson, who said the benign waste seen blowing around landfills was predominately plastic bags.
All of the councillors expressed interest in the project and agreed the best way to proceed would be to get feedback from the Lac La Biche Chamber of Commerce, to see how the local business community feels about the green idea.
Input from Fort McMurray will also be sought to get procedural details from a municipality that has successfully implemented a bylaw limiting plastic bag usage.
“It’s working and it’s working quite well up there,” said councillor Aurel Langevin, adding that it would only take about six months for citizens to adjust to shopping with reusable bags.
Gail Broadbent agreed and said having a six-month to one-year transition period before any possible bylaw comes into effect will help accustom residents to change.
“I think our youth will really appreciate it,” she said, regarding the plastic bag ban.
Council administration will come back with a briefing containing information on the potential bylaw.
The subject was brought to council four years ago, but councillors opted to launch an education campaign instead.
