Toronto council votes for plastic bag ban

Source: The Guardian

Toronto council votes for plastic bag ban

Valentina Jovanovski
guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 June 2012 17.51 BST

Canada's largest city will eliminate its mandatory plastic bag fee on Sunday, just six months before joining the growing movement to ban the single-use bags entirely.

Toronto's city council voted earlier this month to repeal the five cent (3p) levy for plastic carrier bags, which was implemented in 2009 to reduce plastic waste, while simultaneously agreeing to ban them from January 2013.

The city will join other North American cities including Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, that have similar measures in place.

While environmentalists hail the ban – that will include compostable, biodegradable and photodegradable bags – as a step in the right direction, others, including Toronto's own mayor, are critical of its potential impact on industry and consumers.

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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/29/plasticbags-waste