Saturday 26 May 2018

Bag to Differ - Kenya do it, Canada?

As a society - at the local, national and global scales - we seem to constantly be searching for ways to make our lives better. Usually this is the creation of something that leads to a more convenient lifestyle (drive-thru restaurants, ATMs and booze stores, snack sized products, bottled water, etc.). Rarely are actions related positively to environmental wellbeing or change - mostly because doing so forces us to acknowledge we have a problem. However, this doesn’t mean no such actions have been attempted.

Over the last 10 years or so, communities, municipalities and even provinces across Canada have attempted to ban a product all of us have used at one point or another - the plastic bag. I distinctly remember a pilot project of the Atlantic Superstore in a location in Halifax that charged customers 10 cents per bag, in an attempt to curb the use/need for non-reusable bags. After only a few days, the program was cancelled due to the outpour of customer complaints, thus, nullifying a bold attempt to change mindsets and do something for the greater good.

Yet, in 2007, it was local grocer and respected entrepreneur Pete Luckett who stood by the bag ban in his Pete’s Frootique chain of stores. He also charged 10 cents per bag for customers who did not come with their own reusable bag (Side note: he also sells some of the best reusable bags out there - both in terms of design/function and aesthetics). To this day, Pete’s charges for these bags, and customers still shop their as they did prior to this initiative.

Earlier this year, the Province of Nova Scotia began to reconsider a province-wide ban. Nothing has been indicated yet as to what that might look like (full ban vs. a pay per bag program) or when it may come into effect, but there are several areas in favour of it. These include: Digby, Yarmouth, Colchester Country, Antigonish, and those that fall under Valley Waste Resource Management - the latter being no surprise, as they are often the leaders in environmental initiatives across the province, and the wider country.

Sadly, this push to ban bags is less about the environment, and more about a panicked response to China’s recent decision to discontinue accepting all of our plastic waste.

Almost a week ago, I returned from a trip to Kenya. This is where the plot thickens, in terms of the good ‘ol plastic bag.

Years ago, when I was in Ghana, you may recall I complained about the amount of plastic waste, or perhaps waste more broadly. Most of this was caused by the introduction of plastic bags, which were used for... pretty much everything. I noticed similar behaviours in Uganda. It was always really frustrating, but I tried to do my best to break the cycle, at least for myself. But how does this tie into Nova Scotia’s attempts to ban bags, or my trip to Kenya?

While preparing to depart, I noticed a bit of key information in the preparations package. That info - a short blurb on a plastic bag ban in Kenya. Yes, that’s right - KENYA HAS A BAN ON PLASTIC BAGS! Thinking I was reading that wrong, I immediately messaged one of my Kenyan friends who confirmed this to be true, and urged me to take it seriously. This means, no bags for dirty laundry, or dirty shoes, not even for my carry on liquids. These had to be disposed of prior to entering the country.

To make matters worse, when I dropped my bag at the Halifax airport, they airline insisted on placing it in a large, clear, plastic garbage bag. As I was late arriving at the airport, I didn’t think much of it...until I was mid-air on the way to Montreal. When I arrived, I shared this information with the airline staff, and they brushed off my concern. I spoke with someone else, and they told me when I arrived in Amsterdam, it would be taken care of. This was not the case. So for the 36-ish hours in transit, I was in major panic mode! No one even seemed to know of this ban, which you would think is a crucial piece of information for an airline flying into said country!

Usually, these sorts of things don’t bother me, but when you look into it, this ban comes with some hefty fines. If caught with a plastic bag, a fine can be up to US$40000 or four years in jail. Neither of those options are ideal for me. But, perhaps this is what we need in Nova Scotia to be able to get over our fear of reusable bags!!

Anyway, when I arrived in Kenya, my bag was partly wrapped in the bag. It was pretty damaged, as one might expect a flimsy, plastic bag to be after moving from plane to plane! But in the end, I didn’t end up in jail or having to pay anything - partly due to my stealthy bag ripping-off and disposal skills!

But it does bag the question - how can Kenya make this happen, but Canada cannot? Yes, the fines are steep. Yes, it probably isn’t as simple as I’ve just painted. BUT, they are seeing results. Stores are only offering cloth or paper bags. People are aware of the new policy and for the most part are following along. Is it perfect? No. Is there still a lot of waste laying around? Yes. But there is a good chance that over time that can be remedied, just like I hope over time Nova Scotians will accept and adapt to a much healthier, more sustainable lifestyle when it comes to shopping.

-the Orange Canadian

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