Kingston businesses prepare for plastic ban

The co-owner of “Sally’s Roti”, Raoul Ramsaran, says their environmentally friendly nature is a point of pride.

“Right now we are fully down to brown bags. We’re using some biodegradable plastic bags”

So when the federal government announced a ban on single-use plastics, Sally’s Roti was already ahead of the curve.

“The knives and the forks, that still has to go, and plastic containers for the meals. Other than that everything else is paper already,” said Ramsaran.

However, according to Queens University environmental studies professor Myra Hird, these changes might not have the impact you would think.

“The reality is that, all food service utensils put together accounts for about 1% of the plastics pollution, the plastic waste that we’re producing,” said Hird.

She does however, acknowledge this is a step in the right direction.

“This is something that we can do on an everyday basis,” said Hird. “It’s something that is tangible, that we can build into our daily practices, our daily lives”

Ramsaran appreciates the long-term intentions of the ban

“Getting rid of all your single-use plastics, it’s for the betterment, mind you”

Hird recommends each person do what they can with the income and resources that they have.

“Do what you can to reduce, and to reuse. And then find out what’s going on in your community, find out what’s going on in your neighbourhood and join,” said Hird.

Grocery store chains like Metro and Loblaws have also committed to eliminating single-use plastics by early next year. Metro believes by not offering plastic bags at its checkouts across the country, it will divert 330 million plastic bags from landfill sites every year.