The federal government is planning to ban single-use plastics by 2021, but Regina has already begun looking into the impact of the plastic products.
The city is putting together a report on the environmental impact of single use plastics and said it will continue with its plan following the federal announcement.
Single-use plastics include items like grocery bags, straws and take-out containers.
Mayor Michael Fougere said he would like the city to move ahead with its own report so they can try to implement changes by 2020, instead of waiting for the federal legislation in 2021.
"We know and feel this all the time, so we're moving forward to reduce that in our landfill. And if there's a federal initiative to move forward on that too, we see that as being a positive as well,” Fougere said. "We now will be informed by the federal initiative which I think will be a much more comprehensive, robust process, because it's nationwide, so it will inform our report, and I think we'll go forward as we can.”
The federal announcement requires plastics manufacturers and companies using plastic packaging to be responsible for the collection and recycling of the materials.
The Government of Saskatchewan provided few details, but said in a statement it will be discussing the issue further this summer.
“We look forward to discussing the details further with ministers across the country at our upcoming environment FPT in Halifax on June 27.”
Dad’s Organic Market in Regina is unsure how a ban on single-use plastics would affect business, but Nick Gottinger, the assistant manager said they do encourage their own patrons to reuse.
"I'm not too sure how much it will affect us. We do encourage our customers to bring back and reuse our bags by giving them extra points in our points program, and then we encourage them to bring their own bags as well,” Gottinger said.
The federal government has not said which specific plastics will be banned, but it plans to examine evidence to identify the most harmful plastics. Companies will then find out what products will not be allowed anymore.
With files from CTV’s Colton Wiens
