Region waiting on single use plastics action

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

Regional council is contemplating taking a wait and see approach when it comes to the disposal of single use plastics.

Durham Region is attempting to emulate Vancouver and find a solution to the single use plastics currently filling up landfills, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the solution is imminent.

Regional staff have advised the works committee to hold tight and see what actions the province might take in regards to single use plastics, and follow their lead.

Single use plastics include items such as plastic bags, plastic water bottles, cups and other drink containers, cup lids, straws, stir sticks, cutlery, plates, and fast food take out containers.

Staff state while the program adopted in Vancouver, where single-use plastics have been outright banned, has been successful, attempts to do so in other municipalities have resulted in legal action.

Oshawa councillor John Neal questioned what was being done with single use plastics now. He wanted to know if they were being sold, or if they were simply being disposed of.

Commissioner of works Susan Siopis said as of right now, they are having trouble marketing them, so they are not being sold. However, single use plastics are not currently being stored by the region.

She also noted the region is taking a look at other municipalities “to be able to inform us about where we might go with this.”

Siopis said the region will be proposing a long-term waste strategy, and “within that process, we will be taking on the issue of single use plastics.”

Clarington councillor Joe Neal asked if the region is doing anything to help educate residents in a similar manner to the City of Vancouver.

“I believe there is an appetite out there amongst the public to try to deal with this,” said Joe.

In response, Siopis said, “Promotion and education, in staff’s opinion, is key to having success in any of these programs.”

“As much as we as a government agency may look at things like banning straws and banning plastic bags, we can’t necessarily do that without a lot of cooperation,” said Siopis.

In the end, the committee voted to table the issue until its next meeting.