Ban of plastic bags: Brossard's decision based on fiction not facts - The city will face an increase of 700% bag waste and greenhouse gas emissions

SAINT-HUBERT, QC, Febr. 4, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Not only is the decision of the City of Brossard to ban plastic shopping bags in Fall 2016 not based on any socio-economic impact analysis nor any public consultation, but the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) has identified a number of factual errors and a lack of knowledge of sustainable practices in the Regulation REG-351 (pages 99-103) released on January 19.

"Brossard needs to get its facts and science right if it is going to ban a product or they are going to do serious harm to the environment," says, Marc Robitaille, a CPIA member and CEO of Omniplast. "Their motion is a house of cards, based on bad information, no research and no public consultation. Absolutely nothing justifies Brossard's decision and we ask them not to go ahead with the ban."

CPIA invites Brossard city counsellors to read its explanatory notes and corrections in the PDF attached to this press release. They include the following:

-	The very definition of a plastic bag is inaccurate: according to the municipality, the plastic bag is designed for single use (Chapter 1). Plastic bags are NOT single use. They are multi-purpose, multi-use bags. In fact, 60% of plastic bags are reused two or more times (for domestic waste, lunches, etc.). 93% of plastic bags are reused or recycled.
-	The City of Brossard says "the number of plastic bags in circulation in the territory of Québec is counted in several billions." (Considering) In fact, the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change of Quebec reported in 2012 that there are a billion plastic bags in circulation in Quebec, a decrease of 52% between 2007 and 2010.
-	The City of Brossard considers "the negative impact of production related to plastic bags as well as its impact when released into the environment." (Considering) In fact, every solution offered by the City of Brossard (paper bags, reusable bags, cloth bags, etc.) generates more waste and greenhouse emissions than plastic bags – 32% more plastic kitchen catchers and 700% more paper post ban.
	Reusable bags cannot be recycled in Quebec and will end up in landfill as garbage. A cotton reusable has to be reused 131 times to equal a plastic bag used just once. Plastic bags represent only 0.27% of waste in landfills. (EEQ and Statistics Canada)
-	In its resolution, the City of Brossard exempts paper bags; paper is one of their bags of choice. (Chapter 2) Paper bags are single use and their manufacturing requires four times more water than plastic bags. A paper bag has a larger carbon footprint because it weighs up to seven times more than a plastic bag which means a 700% increase in the volume of bag waste and a 700% increase in greenhouse gases for the city.

"We do not understand the need to prevent citizens from reusing and recycling their plastic bags, habits which are well anchored in the lives of people and that represent the best practices for sustainable development today, said Robitaille. In addition, the recycling of plastic bags is not a cost to municipalities because it has been financed by industry since 2013. "

About the Canadian Plastics Industry Association
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association is the national voice of the plastics industry in Canada, representing the interests of processors, material suppliers, equipment manufacturers and brand owners across Canada since 1943.

SOURCE Canadian Plastics Industry Association

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2016/02/04/20160204_C8922_PDF_EN_613235.pdf

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2016/02/04/20160204_C8922_PDF_EN_613237.pdf

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