Eddie Joyce is not against enacting a ban on single-use plastic bags in Newfoundland and Labrador, but he wants to look at the whole picture.
The minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment said the province is working with MNL on the issue and recently presented it with a report completed by the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board on plastic bag management.
In a review of 270 waste sites, Joyce said it was found that plastic bags made up six per cent of the waste. In comparison plastic lids and fast food garbage made up 18-20 per cent of the waste. The province also said the report indicates hard and thread plastics, not film plastic such as plastic shopping bags, are the most prevalent plastic in the stomachs of marine life.
The report also looked at legislation across Canada and found that not one province in the country has laws to cover plastic bag bans.
There are some voluntary bans, but nothing legislated.
With that said, Joyce said that doesn’t mean he’s supportive of plastic bags.
“If something is right to do let’s do it, but let’s do it in the proper manner to do it,” he said.
He said looking at the whole picture means more than just deciding a ban is needed, it also means that legislation needs to change.
In Friday's Western Star, former Corner Brook councillor, Keith Cormier, called on the the province to act on a Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) resolution supporting a ban on single-use plastic bags.
Cormier said that municipalities don’t have the power to enact and enforce bans and Joyce agreed that’s right.
The province is doing a complete review of the Municipalities Act — something that hasn’t been done in 30 years — and through it is asking municipalities what they need in the act. This will include what’s needed for them to implement a ban on plastic bags.
Joyce hopes that review will be completed in the next year or so.
A ban is not something that will happen any time soon, he said, but consultation will continue to take place with municipalities on the issue.