Plastic bags have been disappearing across local and chain stores in Nanaimo because of the new bylaw.
On July 1st, the Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw came into effect.
President and CEO of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, Kim Smythe, stated that the majority of the roughly 6,600 businesses in Nanaimo have already made the switch.
“We started an awareness campaign over a year ago, helping the city get the word out to businesses, and we had no pushback, even a year ago. Everybody had sensed it was in the wind and coming down the pipe.”
He thinks that some local businesses are still going through their plastic bag inventory.
“I’ve seen some [plastic bags] downtown on the street, so there must be some retailers who are working through their supply.”
He says there haven’t been many issues with the switch over for most chains.
“I think the chain ‘Quality Foods’ had some challenges because they had converted to a compostable bag, and of course, they’re very large—they have numerous outlets on the island. But they had contacted us to see if we knew if this would be allowable, so they connected with the city and the decision makers and let them sort it out from there.”
Any business caught not obeying the bylaw can face a fine of up to $50,000.
The full bylaw is available here.
