On Saturday, June 8th, two BC municipalities banned straws and single-use plastic bags.
Tofino and Ucluelet, which are located on Vancouver Island, have announced that the ban is now in effect.
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This news came just two days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government will be banning harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
The straws and single-use plastic bags ban will be enforced in both Tofino and Ucluelet with fines beginning January 2020.
“The west coast single-use plastic regulations bylaw is in effect” reads a District of Ucluelet Facebook post.
“Businesses have until January 2020 to eliminate plastic bags and plastic straws”.
Last month, District of North Vancouver Councillor Megan Curren introduced a recommendation to regulate single-use items at the municipal level.
Likewise, back in 2018, the City of Vancouver approved a ban on single-use straws as well as polystyrene foam cups and containers. The move is part of a comprehensive zero waste strategic plan: the Zero Waste 2040 Strategic Plan.
The ban was originally supposed to come into effect on June 1st, 2019, but has been delayed until early 2020.
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