As part of the ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the Waste Watch Program for Islanders, Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron MacKinley today announced that a total ban on the use of plastic bags for excess yard and garden materials is now in effect.
“Plastic bags are not compostable and once they get dirty they can’t be recycled,” said Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron MacKinley. “That means that those plastic bags have to go into a landfill as waste which fills up our remaining lined landfill. Using paper bags that can be composted or open rigid containers that can be reused are better choices for the environment.”
This ban builds on a restriction on the use of plastic bags for excess yard and garden materials outside the Annual Spring and Fall Cleanup periods. This restriction has been in place since 2007. The adoption of the total ban will mean that this restriction will now also be in place during the Annual Spring and Fall Cleanup periods as well.
"Other Canadian municipalities have similar bans in place on the use of plastic bags for the collection of compostable materials,” said Minister MacKinley. “This move to the use of either open rigid containers or paper bags will eliminate the need to dispose of hundreds of thousands of plastic bags annually on Prince Edward Island.”
The change to a year-round ban on the use of plastic bags for excess yard and garden materials will mean that all excess compost material must now be placed in paper bags or open rigid containers. Compost materials placed in plastic bags will not be collected at any time.
“Over the last number of months our staff has been working to educate customers, consumers and businesses about this change,” said Gerry Moore, CEO of Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC). “We want people to be well informed about this change, why it’s needed, and how it will improve our environment.”
Moore noted that this public education effort has been underway for several months through a variety of means. These include the bi-annual household calendar sent to all customers, through regular weekly newspaper columns, through the IWMC website, through targeted advertising, and through partnerships with local retailers to promote the change and alternative options for consumers.