Plastic Bag Ban Takes Effect In Greater Moncton
MONCTON – As of yesterday, no more single-use plastic bags will be distributed in Greater Moncton.
Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview adopted the Plastic Bag Reduction By-law in 2019.
It was supposed to come into effect on July 1, but in June, municipal councils decided to amend the by-law’s implementation date to October 1, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Elaine Aucoin, the spokesperson for the City of Moncton says, it will help to curb plastic waste across the region.
“The objective is to get customers to bring their own reusable bag and reduce the amount of bags that are having an environmental impact,” she said.
Aucoin says they based their model for the by-law on one that was used in Prince Edward Island last year.
“We did use their bag reduction act as an example, it is very similar. Now, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Nova Scotia will be moving forward with similar bans in October,” Aucoin says.
The ban allows for the distribution of paper bags at a fee. Most retailers want to have some of them on hand.
Christina Mulherin is a reporter with 91.9 The Bend, a Huddle content partner.