The City of Edmonton is seeking feedback on its single-use bylaw to gauge public opinion on the policy and whether it has achieved its intended goal of reducing waste and litter.
A survey last year found Edmontonians split on the city’s single-use bylaw that includes fees for paper and reusable bags, with just over half in favour of the measure. The city now wants to see if opinions have changed a year and a half after the bylaw’s introduction, and whether a review is needed.
“We want to hear your thoughts on the single-use items bylaw and how it’s impacted your day-to-day decisions,” reads the resident survey. There is another survey intended for businesses, asking how the policy and a recent increase on bag fees has affected operations.
The single-use item bylaw also includes a ban on plastic bags and single-use items such as styrofoam containers. Businesses have been instructed to only provide utensils, napkins and condiments when requested or through self-serve options, and to encourage the use of reusable cups as much as possible.
Other regions have seen public pushback over similar single-use policies. Calgary, for example, repealed a similar bylaw earlier this year –just two weeks after it came into effect–following backlash.
Premier Danielle Smith supported dropping the measure, saying it would save Calgary families and businesses time and “unnecessary” costs. “I’m absolutely confident Calgarians can be trusted to recycle and dispose of such items on a voluntary basis. In fact, all Albertans can,” she wrote on social media platform X on May 7.
In British Columbia, Conservative Leader John Rustad included the slogan “paper straws suck” in his campaign during last month’s provincial election, promising to reintroduce plastic straws and bags, and to end bag fees if elected. Single-use item regulations remain in place under re-elected B.C. Premier David Eby.
Ottawa’s Single-Use Plastic Prohibition
The City of Edmonton notes that its single-use bylaw is not affected by the Federal Court’s decision in November 2023 to overturn Ottawa’s ministerial order to designate all items made of plastic as “toxic” substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.The ministerial order was part of the federal Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, which prohibit the manufacture, import, and sale of the six single-use plastic items as part of Ottawa’s plan to meet its zero-plastic-waste target by 2030.
The Federal Court declared the ministerial order “invalid and unlawful,” and granted the federal government a stay motion while Ottawa appeals the ruling.
Edmonton argues that its single-use policy is legal because the city is authorized to pass bylaws for many purposes, “including business regulation and environmental protection,” under the province’s Municipal Government Act (MGA).
The City of Edmonton survey will close on Nov. 19 at 11:59 p.m.
