Mike Schreiner released the following statement after the Retail Council of Canada and the Environment Minister Jeff Yurek exchanged letters about single-use plastics:

“The Retail Council of Canada is asking for province-wide action to curb plastic bags. [Minister's response]

I urge the Minister to do what’s right and respond to the call from retailers with a province-wide plan to phase out single-use plastics by 2025.

The Minister must not ignore the most obvious and urgent solution we need to keep our environment free from plastic pollution.

While the shift to producer responsibility is welcome, it does not negate the need for immediate solutions to cut down on the worst pollutants - from bags to plastic bottles to take-out containers.

Our own Great Lakes alone collect an estimated 10,000 metric tonnes of plastic every year and across the country Canadians discard 34 million plastic bags every day.

We cannot wait until 2025 for a new Blue Box system.

Anything short of a single-use plastic ban is a failure to our grandchildren who will be left cleaning up the mess from polluted lakes and swelling landfills.”

source: Green Leader's office