No. In a properly engineered landfill, nothing is meant to degrade. No bag – whether reusable or plastic – will decompose in a landfill. Modern landfills are engineered to entomb waste and prevent decomposition. This actually helps the environment by not producing dangerous greenhouse gases like methane.
Plastic Bag Ban
Prince Albert's plastic retail checkout bag ban will be implemented starting October 12, 2021. The original ban, set to be enforced in August of 2020, was suspended following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Saskatchewan restrictions now lifted, Prince Albert City Council has approved another three-month phase-in period to give businesses an opportunity to plan for the change.
Starting October 12, 2021 customers in Prince Albert will no longer have access to plastic checkout bags in restaurants and stores.
The bylaw prohibits a retail or food service business from:
- providing, distributing or selling plastic check out bags (including biodegradable plastic);
- restricting or denying the use of any reusable container or reusable bag by a person.
Why a Plastic Bag Ban?
The goal of this bylaw is to change consumer behaviour. Saskatchewan produces the second highest amount of waste per capita in Canada. By switching to reusable bags we can minimize the amount of plastic waste ending up in our landfill, recycling collection systems and littered throughout our community. This will save money and help to protect the environment.
Here is what we know about plastic bags:
- Plastic retail bags are not designed for reuse, often tearing or puncturing after first use;
- It is estimated that the average Canadian uses 200-300 plastic bags a year which means Prince Albert residents produce millions annually.
- Plastic bags do not biodegrade which means the ones littered throughout our community and waterways take hundreds of years to break down and leach harmful contaminants into the environment
- Plastic bags are getting harder to recycle after overseas countries cut imports of scrap plastic and cities across the country are struggling. By eliminating plastic bags, we can be sure we are no longer contributing to the problem.
What You Can Do
- Remember to bring your own bag when you shop.
- If you don’t have a reusable bag, consider making your own or purchase on from local retailer
- If you can use repurposed or recycled materials to make your own tote, you will reduce your carbon footprint even more
- Use paper bags to fill garbage pails
- Reuse plastic bags like bread bags to dispose of pet waste
- Take care of your bags and don’t accumulate more than you need
- If you have too many, donate reusable bags to local secondhand stores for reuse
Other Checkout Bag Options
If you forget to bring your reusable bags, paper checkout bags can still be made available and many grocers and chain stores also sell reusable bags for about $1.00.
Exceptions
The ban applies to plastic check-out bags. There are a number of exceptions for in-store use of plastic bags including:
- Carrying fruits or vegetables
- Containing fresh or frozen meat, poultry or fish products whether packaged or not;
- Containing bulk food items or bulk hardware items;
- Freshly prepared bakery items or other food items that are not prepackaged
- Wrapped flowers or potted plants
- Clothes immediately following professional laundering or dry cleaning;
- Newspapers or other printed material intended to be left at the customer’s residence or place of business.
- Plastic bags (garbage or zipper storage bags) sold in packages of multiple bags
- Transport of live fish
Fines
Under the Plastic Bag Bylaw, businesses that continue to provide plastic checkout bags can be fined.
For an individual: $100 first offence, $200 second offence, up to $500 third offence
For a corporation: $500 first offence, $1,000 second offence, up to $10,000 third offence
Customers will not be fined under this bylaw.
Information Materials
To help inform your customers and employees, businesses can download the following materials for display.
Plastic Bag Ban - Questions and Answers
Do plastic checkout bags decompose in a landfill?
Reusable bags can be “greener” than plastic bags, but all bags have an environmental impact. What makes a reusable bag more “green” is how it is used and how often it is used. They must be reused many times and as frequently as intended. On a life cycle basis, they are made stronger and heavier in order to last longer.
When it comes to reusable bags, keep the following in mind:
- The more times you use a bag, the more environmentally friendly it becomes.
- Take care of your bags and don’t accumulate more than you need.
- If you have too many, donate reusable bags for reuse
- If you can use repurposed or recycled materials to make your own tote, you will reduce your carbon footprint even more.
Is a ban on plastic checkout bags better for the environment?
Plastic bags fill our landfill, contribute to litter, contaminate land, waterways, storm drains and oceans. Since they do not biodegrade and they stay in our ecosystems for hundreds of years leaching harmful contaminants in the environment.
In comparison, although more resource intensive to create a single paper bag, paper is biodegradable, and generally easier to recycle and it is becoming more challenging to find markets for plastic recycling.
Eliminating plastic checkout bags is an important step but true success requires the support and collective commitment to environmentally friendly practices by our community. We must remember that bags need to be reused as much as possible to get the true environmental benefits. Over consumption of paper and reusable bags is not the answer.
Producing 1 plastic bag has a relatively low environmental impact. The impact of this type of disposable bag comes from using so many of them. The more times you use a bag, the more environmentally friendly it becomes.
- Paper bags are only more ecofriendly when reused 4 times or more.
- Polypropylene bags are more environmentally friendly after 14 uses
- Cotton bags are more ecofriendly after 173 uses
What is considered a plastic checkout bag?
In Canada, plastic checkout bags are primarily made from a by-product of natural gas production, ethane, a component of natural gas. The ethane is converted, and its British thermal unit (“BTU”) value is “frozen” into a solid form (polyethylene) using a catalytic process to make a plastic grocery bag.
The Plastic Ban Bylaw defines a plastic bag as a bag made of plastic that has not been designed for reuse. A checkout bag is a bag that is intended to be used by a customer for the purpose of transporting items purchased or received by the customer from the business, including takeout food.
What is considered a reusable bag?
The Bylaw defines a reusable bag as a “bag with handles that is designed and manufactured to have a minimum lifetime of 100 uses and is primarily made of cloth or other washable fabric.”
The ideal reusable bag is made from sustainable materials, is durable and is easily recycled or reused. There are many types of reusable bags that are designed to be capable of at least 100 uses. Examples of durable and reusable bag materials include:
- Synthetic fabrics like nylon, polyester and polypropylene
- Cotton or recycled cotton
- Other natural fabrics (e.g. hemp, jute)
I already use my plastic checkout bags, so what is the harm?
The average Canadian uses 200-300 plastic checkout bags a year which means that Prince Albert residents produce millions of single use plastic bags annually. Even if you reuse some of your bags, many are ending up in our landfill or littered throughout our community. This ban will eliminate the excess from our community.
I already recycle my plastic checkout bags, so what is the harm?
Plastic bags are getting harder and harder to recycle after overseas countries cut imports of scrap plastic this year and cities across the country are struggling. By eliminating plastic bags, we can be sure we are no longer contributing to the problem.
Will this change be expensive?
Customers may bring their own reusable bags to package groceries or other purchases for free. Many retail businesses and food service businesses are already charging a fee for plastic checkout bags, so a small investment in reusable bags will pay for itself over time.
Why does the Bylaw target just plastic checkout bags? What about other single-plastic items?
Since most people make in-store and grocery purchases, and reusable bags are easy to bring from home, this is a simple way to address one type of plastic consumption.
Residents are still encouraged to reduce plastic in other areas of their everyday life such as switching to reusable water bottles, coffee and beverage cups, skip the straw, etc.
How will this impact people who have low incomes?
The City encourages second hand stores, schools, community buildings, faith communities etc. to join the effort and become locations where community members can drop off and share reusable bags. Another good idea moving forward is “Buy One, Give One” donation drives.
Dog owners can save and reuse other types of bags that typically are thrown away, such as bread bags, cereal box liners and frozen vegetable bags.
Cat owners can use the same, or scoop kitty litter into a handled container made from a milk jug with an opening cut out, and reuse this repeatedly to carry waste to garbage cans.
Important: Cat litter cannot be flushed down the toilet as it spreads a disease called toxoplasmosis into waterways.
The Plastic Checkout Bag Bylaw No. 28 of 2020 targets plastic checkout bags, not stores, so no retail businesses or food service businesses would be exempt. They will all have to stop providing plastic checkout bags.
How will the Bylaw be enforced?
Enforcement of the Plastic Checkout Bag Bylaw No. 28 of 2020 will be complaint driven. A Bylaw Enforcement Office or designate can investigate any complaints.
Contact Us
City of Prince Albert
1084 Central Avenue
Prince Albert, SK S6V 7P3
Phone: 306-953-4884
After Hours Emergency: 306-953-4348
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