No plastic ban in Calgary ... yet

A full ban on plastic bags and strawsisn't in Calgary's immediate future, but a city councillor is pushing for ways to reduce the amount of single-use plastic items in the city.

Coun. Druh Farrell backed away from trying to bring in a ban on plasticbags, but a committee accepted her motion on Wednesday to study ways at reducing waste from single-use items.

It's part of a broader global push to deal with the little bits and pieces that clog waterways and sit for centuries in landfills. At the current meeting of the Commonwealth in London, Britainis pushing other nations to join it in banningplastic straws and other single-use plastics.

• Britain will ban sale of plastic straws
• Calgary eyes plan to go 'a la carte' with your black cart

In Calgary, the city is trying to reduce the amount of waste going to its landfills by 70 per cent before 2025.

"We need to look at ways to reduce our single-use items in our landfill, especially single-use plastics, and we're seeing more and more information around the damage that single-use plastics are wreaking in our environment," said Farrell.

Bans in Canada

Montreal implemented a plastic bag ban this year and Victoria is poised to follow suit in July, but Farrell says that shouldn't be necessary here.

She wants to look at strategies for reducing the use of products such as plastic bags orplastic cutlery before there's any consideration of banning them.

• Your lifestyle is making blue box recycling unsustainable

"A ban if there are no viable options often doesn't work and that's what we're hearing about a plastic bag ban," said Farrell.

"Now it's a conversation. Calgarians, from what I'm hearing, are really interested in having this discussion. We've been receiving hundreds of petition signatures on a plastic bag ban. This goes way beyond plastic bags."

However, she said it might be worth considering a ban on materials that can't be recycled, like Styrofoam.

Her motion will now go before council for consideration. If passed, a report on reducing single-use items would be done by the end of the year.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Tsuut'ina nation flags concerns over Bragg Creek flood mitigation
• ANALYSIS| The new Alberta alienation: Resenting East and West