CHÂTEAUGUAY – It seems Châteauguay is the latest Montreal-area city to consider banning all light-weight plastic bags from retail stores within the next couple of years.
No decisions have been made yet, but the mayor views the bags as an environmental hazard.
READ MORE: Montreal moves to ban plastic bags by 2018
“They are a problem, as plastic bottles are a problem for the environment,” she said.
Simon said an entirely new waste management policy needs to be established.
What was once considered a draconian idea is now the hot button solution to keep plastic bags from ending up in land fills, ocean waters or littering public property.
WATCH: Quebec plastic bag ban
All cities within greater Montreal – 82 cities and towns – are required to have a plan in place by April, 2018.
The City of Brossard has already approved a ban to begin Sept. 1 this year.
Environmentalists are applauding Châteauguay’s move toward eliminating plastic bags.
READ MORE: Brossard unanimously adopts bylaw banning plastic bags
Karel Ménard argued the small bags are often used only once, and he said many people don’t recycle them.
“Don’t forget that we use about one billion bags a year in Quebec, so how many are re-used?” the environmentalist asked Global News.
People in the plastic-making business insisted bags are recycled or reused more than 90 per cent of the time.
They claim the thicker, reusable bags quickly fill with bacteria – making them a health hazard.
All the same, Ménard countered the best way to protect the environment is a comprehensive ban.