VAUDREUIL TACKLES PLASTIC BAG ISSUE

Vaudreuil-Dorion town council has officially voiced opposition to a Montreal Metropolitan Community proposal to ban singleuse plastic bags in retail stores as of Earth Day 2018.

On Monday, Vaudreuil-Dorion adopted a resolution calling instead for a user-pay, or polluterpay, approach for shopping bags and to establish standards for reusable and recyclable bags.

City officials noted that potentially significant environmental and economic gains could be realized by promoting more recyclable and reusable plastic bags on a voluntary basis by means of incentive pricing.

Mayor Guy Pilon said his city wants to prioritize initiatives that will have the most impact on the environment. He noted the volume of waste eliminated by banning single-use plastic bags is negligible compared with residues from construction, as well as recycling for businesses and industries.

“One cannot be against virtue, but we want to put our efforts where we have the most results and especially where results are guaranteed. We will work in the same direction as the other municipalities, but not necessarily in the same way,” he stated.

The city of 37,500 residents plans to develop a public awareness campaign to promote reusable and recyclable bags.

Earlier this year, Notre-Damede-l’Île-Perrot town council approved a resolution backing a MMC initiative tabled last December that called for a ban on using plastic bags by April 22, 2018. Notre-Dame’s resolution states that single-use plastic shopping bags that are not biodegradable or fully recyclable should be banned within its territory by Earth Day 2018.