As of October 12th, the City of Prince Albert is enacting a ban on all plastic retail checkout bags.
Mayor Greg Dionne says the bylaw to ban the bags was to begin last August, but was suspended after the pandemic hit.
With restrictions now lifted, Prince Albert City Council has approved a three month phase-in period to give businesses an opportunity to plan for the change.
Dionne says a survey in the summer of 2019 indicated 75 per cent of respondents were in favour of the ban.
He notes that in Prince Albert alone, it is estimated at least 3-million plastic bags are handed out each year, not including regional customers, and many end up in the landfill and scattered throughout the community.
Dionne says, “By banning plastic, we can reduce the waste added to the landfill, lengthening the life of each landfill cell.”