Mr. Speaker, as I always like to begin each Friday, I would like to make special mention that it’s Red Friday and I support my troops.
Today I want to talk about the need for public support in discussion and education in an effort to gradually eliminate the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags are everywhere. For almost every purchase we make, we get a plastic bag. Here in the NWT that adds up to almost 40 tonnes of plastic bag waste each year.
The use of plastic bags has serious impacts on the environment. While some are recycled, most plastic bags go to the garbage and end up in our landfills. It is estimated that plastic bags take up to 1,000 years for them to break down. Plastic bags are also a major part of our litter problem. They clutter our streets, stick to our trees and certainly pollute our waters.
Another reason to consider eliminating plastic bags is that they are made from petroleum products, a major contributor to greenhouse gases. Some people like to say it's Environment Day or Environment Week, but as I see it, to some degree, it's Environment Day every day.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has identified plastic bags as something we should consider recycling. I believe we should take it a step further and consult with the residents and businesses on ways to eliminate the use of plastic bags in the NWT.
If I highlight Halifax, for instance, some stores don't even sell plastic bags anymore. They don't allow them. They sell only cloth bags. So if you show up there, you’re out of luck if you forgot your bags. You have to buy new ones.
There's a growing international movement to ban or discourage the use of these manufactured plastic bags. Countries like Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and even China have either banned these bags or implemented taxes or fees to put pressure on consumers. These taxes and fees have resulted in a significant drop in the use of plastic bags and have provided millions of dollars to governments to support recycling programs.
Many Northerners recognize the problems associated with plastic bags, and they are saying no to plastic bags by using cloth bags.
I believe that we need to move on this movement and ideals that are best for our environment. I would encourage the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to make sure he gets out there and engages Northerners, to make sure we take significant steps to reduce and move forward on this issue.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
