Toronto has joined other cities around the world that has banned plastic bags. San Francisco banned plastic bags earlier in the year, and we mustn’t forget that a small town of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba was the first place in North America to enact such a ban. This ban flies in the face of an incompetent and backwards-thinking mayor that wanted to remove a tax on plastic bags, so the councillors voted to ban all bags instead.
“These bags are junk, whether you want to call them biodegradable or not. They end up in the same place: blowing around the streets or in landfill,†said Councillor David Shiner, a member of Mr. Ford’s executive who surprised many by introducing the ban.
“Let’s get rid of the plastic bags. Let’s make today a real statement. Let’s tell the industry that we’re not accepting your baloney any more,†he said.
Mr. Shiner said he didn’t know he was going to move the motion until partway through the debate. He based the language largely on Seattle’s recently passed ban on bags. Retailers will still be allowed to sell or give away single-use paper bags, he said, using the example of retailers such as provincial liquor stores and some department stores who already offer free paper bags to customers.
