Your chance to weigh in on the city’s proposed plastic bag ban is coming up.
The City of Salmon Arm will hold a public input session for the proposed Checkout Shopping Bag Regulation Bylaw on Tuesday, April 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. in council chambers.
Gathering input and providing information regarding the proposal are part of the process launched in concert with implementation of the bylaw.
Mayor Alan Harrison, who championed the local plan to ban single-use plastic bags, has said the hope is to pass the bylaw by July 1, which would dovetail with implementation of curbside food waste collection.
At council’s April 8 meeting, he encouraged residents to come to the information meeting, no matter their view of the bylaw.
“Those in support, those who have ideas of improving the bylaw, those who don’t think it’s such a good idea,” he said.
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Coun. Kevin Flynn said it’s helpful that organizations such as Downtown Salmon Arm (DSA) and the Salmon Arm Chamber of Commerce are helping gather input, referring to DSA’s newsletter and the chamber’s poll on the topic.
He’s also hoping for lots of participation at the public input session.
Salmon Arm’s proposed bylaw banning bags is fashioned after Victoria’s, one implemented in July of last year and reportedly doing well.
“We are seeing a very high degree of compliance from businesses moving away from plastic check-out bags,” said Rory Tooke, Victoria’s manager of sustainability and asset management, in February. “A lot of the hard work was working with the businesses right off the bat, listening to them…, taking the feedback of all the stakeholders into account in the bylaw.”
Harrison told council he’d also like to see a City of Salmon Arm reusable bag that would be distributed when the new recycling bins are. He said he’d provide more information at council’s next meeting.
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marthawickett@saobserver.net
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