The city of Montreal wants to crack down on the use of plastic bags. Mayor Denis Coderre has set up a committee to review the environmental and economic effects of a plastic bag ban.
Coderre said he wants a respectful debate during the public consultations slated to begin in May 2015, but his stance on it is clear.
“When I pass a motion saying that Montreal is a green city, that we are friendly to the environment, well it means something. It’s not just words,” said Coderre at city hall Wednesday morning.
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association has said it’s a bad idea and they don’t understand the mayor’s motives.
“This news seems to have come from out of nowhere, without any forethought or discourse,” said Carol Hochu, president of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, in a statement in November 2014. “A 2007 study from Recyc-Quebec indicated that plastic bags represent less than 2 per cent of all waste generated each year by Quebec households.”
However, Coderre said a million bags end up in landfills every year and he wants to put a stop to that.
The city of Toronto has tried to ban plastic bags in 2012 but failed due to pressure from consumers who wanted to keep using them.
