N.B. only Atlantic province yet to enforce provincewide ban on plastic bags; some wonder why

Depending on where you live – or what grocer you prefer – you might be already used to bringing reusable shopping bags with you on your weekly grocery shopping trip in New Brunswick.

That’s despite the province being the only one in Atlantic Canada not to have a provincewide ban on plastic bags.

The Moncton, N.B., and Saint John, N.B., regions each have by-laws in place, banning the use of plastic bags.

Dieppe, N.B., Riverview, N.B., and Moncton’s by-law has been in effect since Oct. 1, 2020. Nine months later, Saint John, Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., Hampton, N.B., Quispamsis, N.B., Rothesay, N.B., and St. Martins, N.B., did the same.

“July 1 hit, and it went silent – nothing!” said Brenda MacCallum, the public relations and program development officer for Fundy Region Service Commission. “Everybody just adopted it. It was like, there was a nothing new going on. People just knew what to do. I think we’ve talked about it for so long, we’ve seen it in so many other jurisdictions and it was a no brainer.”

MacCallum said prior to the by-law, about 35 million plastic bags were used every year in the Fundy region.

Today, they don’t necessarily see zero, but it’s close.

“We had no end market for those plastic bags, so now they have just essentially disappeared. We see very, very little on the side of plastic bags,” she said. “With one by-law we’ve basically removed that. We know we can do it – so what else can we look at to remove from that consumption stream?”

Prince Edward Island’s ban has been in place since July 1, 2019, Newfoundland and Labrador's ban took effect on July 1, 2020, and Nova Scotia’s started Oct. 30, 2020.

New Brunswick is planning to introduce a program that will put the financial responsibility of packaging and paper waste onto the producer of the product itself – called the "Extended Producer Responsibility Program." It’s not new – already adopted in five other provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia.

The program won't be in place until early 2023, but Lois Corbett of the Conservational Council of New Brunswick says she’s already noticed some major retailers changing their packaging.

“Walmart has its own cloth bag now – that’s a big shift for Walmart,” she said. “I see you can buy some brands of paper towels in brown paper packaging now as opposed to the big large plastic containers that would hold six or 12 rolls.”

However, Corbett says there’s nothing in the new regulation that prevents the province from introducing an outright ban of plastic bags.

“So, that’s good. The regulation is flexible enough that when there’s enough call and support for an individual product ban - maybe it’s hazardous, like a plastic bag – maybe it’s all over the beaches, like a plastic bag – maybe it’s not recyclable, like a plastic bag – then the province can add that layer on top of its extended producer responsibility program,” she said.

According to the council, about 40 per cent of New Brunswick’s household waste “is made up of packaging and paper products like cereal boxes and detergent boxes, plastic containers, newspapers and ad flyers.”

A spokesperson for New Brunswick’s Department of Environment and Local Government said they’re waiting on Ottawa to make a move before it decides if a provincewide ban is necessary.

“In December 2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) released draft regulations prohibiting certain single-use plastics for public review and comment,” said Alysha Elliot. “New Brunswick is currently awaiting the outcome of the federal consultation process on the federal draft regulations to determine if further provincial regulations are needed.”

The City of Fredericton is doing the same – a spokesperson stating the city is expecting a move by the province and the federal government by late 2022.

Shasta Stairs said Fredericton did do consultations on the issue in early 2021 with local businesses and there was support.

“However, from a timing perspective, local businesses were struggling, and continue to struggle, due to the impacts of COVID and needed more time to adjust their plans,” she said in a statement.

Corbett says, in her opinion, the plastic bag is nearing its “last legs” anyway.

“I guess we could take the public policy option of just sitting around a letting it die a natural death, or we could be proactive and just ban it,” she said.