Brossard's plastic bag ban now in effect

The City of Brossard's ban on single-use plastic shopping bags goes into effect today.

Merchants in the South Shore community will now have to provide either reusable bags or paper bags.

• Brossard bans plastic bags in stores for fall 2016

Brossard city councillors approved the ban unanimously in February despite opposition from Quebec's plastics industry and the Canadian Plastic Bags Association.

Ecological concerns were highlightedas the principal reason for the ban.

A similar bylaw was passed recently by theCity of Montreal and goes into effect in 2018.

Two other Quebec municipalities,Deux-MontagnesandHuntingdon,have alsomoved to ban plastic bags.