Plastic straw ban in Montreal? Petition calls on city to reduce waste

A ban on plastic straws in Montreal? That’s what a petition started by Melanie Laberge is demanding of the city of Montreal.

READ MORE: Kirkland resto-bar bans plastic drinking straws

“Single-use plastics are the culprit, they get used once and are thrown away,” the petition states.

“The city still has a lot of work to do in order to be called plastic-free.”

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Laberge points out that because plastic is not biodegradable, single-use straws can take up to 200 years to start decomposing.

READ MORE: City of Vancouver votes to ban single-use plastic straws and styrofoam cups

One sports bar in Kirkland, in Montreal’s West Island, has already banned plastic straws, saying it was shocked at how many it could go through in one day alone.

WATCH BELOW: West Island bar ditches plastic straws

2:01 West Island bar ditches plastic straws

“Maybe we start this movement and slowly the other West Island bars and restaurants can slowly adopt this and then soon enough, it will be a Montreal-wide thing,” said Chris Domsodi, Le Club Dome sales and marketing representative.

READ MORE: Starbucks to ditch plastic straws globally by 2020

If Montreal were to ban single-use plastic straws, it would join cities like Vancouver and Seattle, which have recently adopted city-wide bans.

“In Canada, we use about 30 million straws a day,” environmentalist Karel Ménard told Global News.

“If they ban disposable plastic straws, they should have alternatives like cardboard or biodegradable straws.”

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Saint-Hubert restaurants and Starbucks have also announced they will be eliminating plastic straws in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.

WATCH: Starbucks promises to eliminate plastic straws from more than 28,000 locations worldwide

1:28 Starbucks promises to eliminate plastic straws from more than 28,000 locations worldwide

Montreal has already committed to cutting back on waste, implementing a ban on single-use plastic bags and passing a motion to prohibit water bottles in municipal buildings.

READ MORE: City councillor wants to see Montreal ban single-use plastic water bottles in city buildings

Council confirmed to Global News Thursday it is working on a “global strategy to reduce plastic in the City of Montreal” and “plastic straws will be part of it.”

The city plans to release its waste management plan later on this week.

READ MORE: Montreal plastic bag ban officially in effect

So far, Laberge’s petition has garnered over 1,150 signatures.

rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
Follow @rachel_lau