Canada is banning single-use plastic bags from stores in an attempt to be more eco-friendly. The ban is fully in place in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ottawa (ON) is starting to ban plastic bags from being created and distributed across Canada.
But stores like Walmart’s Canadian locations may be creating another problem: a pile-up of bulky reusable bags. These bags are especially used for Walmart’s grocery delivery and curbside pickup services.
Canadians who order groceries regularly, such as Toronto resident Larry Grant, are left with many reusable bags. Grant, who has been getting groceries delivered from Walmart every week for 6 months, has up to 300 bags.
Developments From Other Grocery Stores
As the plastic bag ban spreads across the country, grocers are adapting in different ways.
Metro, a grocery chain in Ontario and Quebec, uses returnable cardboard boxes and plastic bins instead of bags for grocery deliveries.
Sobeys has stopped using plastic checkout bags, but still uses them for grocery deliveries. It has plans to switch to paper bags.
Loblaws is planning to roll out the ban in its stores and is also looking into using returnable bags.
Walmart, in response to mounting customer complaints, is exploring ways to reduce the number of reusable bags it uses.
Reusable Bags: More Eco-Friendly?
At first glance, reusable bags seem to be a better option than single-use plastic ones because it reduces landfill trash. However, reusable bags take more carbon, water, and energy to make than plastic bags, meaning they must be used many times to offset the environmental impact. A reusable Walmart bag, which is a non-woven polyproplene bag, would need to be used 10-20 times to be more eco-friendly than a plastic bag. Reusable cotton bags will need to be used many more times, in the 50-150 range, since cotton production leaves a heavy carbon footprint.
As paper bag production also requires more carbon and water than for plastic bag production, paper bags are also not necessarily more sustainable. Making them from recyclable materials and compostable may be a work-around.
Transitioning From Plastic Bags
Apart from Canada, other regions are also trying to ban plastic bags. New Jersey started a ban last year and received similar complaints about reusable bags piling up. Officials in the state are looking into introducing legislation that requires grocery delivery services to reuse or recycle bags instead of sending new ones with each delivery.
As for how Canada will navigate the growing pains, Environment and Climate Change Canada stated it will work with officials to educate consumers about why reusing bags is important. Still, they did not put forth any concrete plans keep retailers from using excess reusable bags.
Reference:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/walmart-reusable-bags-plastic-ban-1.6687315
