It's Official: All Plastic Bags In T.O. Stores Will Cost You 5 Cents Starting Next June
If your favourite grocery store is No Frills, Food Basics or Price Shopper, this won't really be anything new.
But if you shop at one of the other big chains in Toronto, like Metro or Loblaws, get ready for a change. And that change will be 5 cents.
City Council has passed a law making it mandatory for all stores in Toronto to charge you a nickel for every plastic bag you use.
The idea, which passed Tuesday night, is to get you to reduce the number of bags that inevitably wind up in a landfill and either use up the ones you have now or buy one of those reusable types that are earth friendly.
Mayor David Miller has complained that the carry-alls aren't biodegradable and can last for years and years at garbage dumps. "I'm very proud that Toronto is leading the way," he agrees. "It's the right thing to do."
Although this is a step in the right direction, discouraging the use of Earth unfriendly products, I object to Mr. Mayor's affirmation that "Toronto is leading the way". Toronto is not leading the way, all it is doing is passing a superficial law that will in all likelihood have little affect on consumer behaviour.
Shoppers who buy their groceries at premium supermarkets will most probably not be swayed by the cost of five shopping bags on an eighty dollar shopping trip. As Darrell quite rightly points out, profits garnered from this five cent levy should at the very least be shared with Toronto's recycling facilities. If the Mayor's motivation is indeed our planet, why let the corporations keep 100% of the cash flow generated by this new charge? Why aren't said funds being allocated to improving Toronto's recycling facilities? Or being used to help clean up the city? Or a dozen other things?
Getting back to "Toronto is leading the way" - they are not sir. As of July 21st, 2004, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer here is a list of cities and countries who, over four and a half years ago began banning or cracking-down on plastic bag usage.
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Ireland
- Italy
- South Africa
- Taiwan
- Mumbai, India
Leaf Rapids, Manitoba banned plastics bags in April of 2007 and later that year Nigeria and Kenya began spearheading banning plastic bags in Africa. So Toronto is hardly a leader, at least not in this respect.
I do not mean to harp on Toronto. I am proud that she is taking steps to at least try to help clean up the world in which we live, but if Toronto truly wanted to lead she would not stop at half measures that in my opinion reek of nothing more that public relations and photo op shenanigans.
