[ad_1]
Fees for bags at Edmonton stores and restaurants are set to increase this summer under city rules restricting single-use items.
The city bylaw banning single-use plastic bags took effect last year, including a set minimum charge businesses have to apply for paper or reusable bags. Customers can avoid the fee if they refuse a bag, or bring one of their own.
The rules call for minimum fees for paper bags to rise from 15 cents to 25 cents on July 1, while the base cost for reusable bags will double, to $2.
Businesses keep the money from the fees. A city report says collecting and managing the money isn’t worth the cost, and any potential revenue would go straight back into the regulatory process.
The goal is to encourage people to bring their own bags for shopping or takeout, and ultimately reduce waste going to the landfill.
Denis Jubinville, the city’s branch manager of waste services, said Monday that higher fees will put Edmonton in line with other cities that have seen success.
“If we wish to achieve a greater single-use item reduction, then an increased fee on bags is a proven way to motivate this change,” he said.
“This is a program that is challenging our norms of convenience.”
About 64 per cent of respondents to a city survey that ran online in November said they were probably or definitely likely to bring their own shopping bag after fees increase.
The numbers are a bit different when it comes to bags for takeout or drive-thru service. In that case, fewer than 30 per cent of respondents said they’re likely to bring their own bag, even with higher fees.
City assessment of bag fees still ahead
Italian Centre Shop president Teresa Spinelli said the start of plastic bag restrictions last summer didn’t come without headaches and customer complaints, but she’s seen people adapt.
She said when the chain of Edmonton grocery stores first started charging for plastic bags, the business saw its bag usage cut in half. The fees on alternatives to plastic bags have sent that number even lower.
“We hope that next year, even more so, because people get used to carrying their own bags. I think it does make a difference, for sure,” she said.
“Especially when the bags go to $2, that’s a lot — $2 for a bag, I don’t know that many people are willing to pay that.”
City council’s utilities committee considered changes Monday, including scrapping this year’s planned hike or delaying it into 2025.
But city officials said that would mean starting from scratch on a new public hearing process to rewrite the bylaw, and could risk creating more confusion and uncertainty for businesses.
Committee chair Coun. Tim Cartmell said he knows the fees can be irritating, but the aim is for people to reconsider their behaviour.
He added he hasn’t heard many complaints about the system lately, and no one has shown up to committee meetings to express concern.
“I’m not keen on annoying people or making it inconvenient. But if the ultimate outcome is people don’t take a bag because they don’t like the fee, it’s kind of mission accomplished.”
City officials will assess the program next year, and report back on whether the bylaw achieves the goal of a 10 per cent reduction in single-use items per capita.
[ad_2]
