Plastic Bag Reduction Initiative

WHEREAS Canadians take home over 55 million plastic bags every week; AND WHEREAS plastic bags are a detriment to the environment since it takes more than 1,000 years for them to decompose and are harmful to wildlife who are eating this type of plastic and dying; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the provincial government to implement a fee for plastic shopping bags with the revenue to be distributed to those local governments who are responsible for solid waste to be allocated towards a plastic bag recycling initiative, awareness program or other incentives to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags.