Plastic-free compostable bags wrongfully included in plastics ban: Calgary Co-op
Posted Aug 3, 2023 8:13 am.
Last Updated Aug 3, 2023 8:16 am.
Should compostable bags be included in the single use plastic ban? The federal government thinks so, and it’s drawing ire from Calgary Co-op who is continuing their push to get the feds to change their mind.
“When we did find out, [we went] through that fine print, because it wasn’t evident to us right away — and saw that compostable bags were lumped in. We were really confused and immediately started trying to reach out to have those conversations,” said Sage Pullen McIntosh, director of communications and loyalty with Calgary Co-op.
They’ve launched a petition to get the attention of the feds — already having support from the city and province.
“This is a really innovative product and so we don’t wanna just go away quietly,” the Co-op director said.
Help us keep our compostable bags!
Our 100% compostable shopping bags, which contain 0% plastic has been included in a single-use plastics ban by the federal government. Please sign our petition to support our compostable bags.
Petition link: https://t.co/dJc3y7RUp3 pic.twitter.com/ZnfmL5gxVB
— Calgary Co-op (@CalgaryCoop) July 12, 2023
Alberta’s minister of environment showed off the Made-in-Calgary solution while attending a national meeting of environment ministers.
“When we as legislators come up with — whether it’s legislation or regulations — we have to look at that to make sure that there aren’t unintended consequences. That’s what we’re seeing here with the federal government,” said Rebecca Schulz.
“It is 100% completely compostable and currently it is also 100 per cent banned by the federal government’s plastic legislation,” she added.
The ban goes into place in December of this year and Co-op says they’re prepared with a plan B. in case they aren’t granted an exemption.
Read more: Calgary company calls foul on Canada’s single-use plastics ban
“What we’ve been told is that we can sell these bags still but they must be sold in bundles off the shelf,” said Pullen McIntosh.
Minister Schulz says she has brought up her concerns with the federal minister of environment
And, while Co-op hasn’t heard back, they do anticipate a conversation sometime in the near future.
“We just really want to make sure that our voice is heard. We think it’s an innovative product that’s worth fighting for,” said Pullen McIntosh.
