As 2020 begins, at least 20 B.C. municipalities have either put in place a bylaw that prohibits plastic bags at check-outs, or are drafting legislation in consultation with residents about how to come up with one. 

In the meantime, the province is reviewing single-use plastics to come up with a potential provincewide ban, while the plastics industry remains steadfast that the bags are being unfairly targeted.

On June 8, 2019 Tofino and Uclulet prohibited businesses from giving out conventional plastic bags and restaurants providing plastic straws. Instead customers can pay a fee for a paper bag or, better yet, bring their own reusable bags.

The bans are meant to reduce the number of bags ending up in landfills or, worse, in the ocean. Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne said the ban has been good for her community.

“People want to effect change in the environment and the way we use things,” she said.

By July, several other municipalities joined Tofino and Ucluelet with similarly structured bylaws based on one in Victoria that was passed in 2018. They included Courtenay, Salmon Arm, Qualicum Beach, and Cumberland.

But the movement suffered a blow on July 10 when the Court of Appeal for British Columbia struck down Victoria’s bag bylaw, which struggled to get going due to court challenges

The court ruled that the implementation of a ban was provincial jurisdiction.

Read the full and original story at cbc.ca