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No plastic bag ban: city

The City of Winnipeg is once again shying away from enacting a ban on plastic bags.

In July, city council’s public works committee asked Winnipeg’s water and waste department to re-examine the idea of eliminating plastic bags, as some other Canadian cities and towns have done. In a report published today, solid waste manager Darryl Drohomerski said the city will continue to support provincial efforts to reduce, re-use and recycle plastic bags – but will not impose a ban.

"While legislation could be enacted to prohibit the use of single-use plastic grocery bags, there are residents that reuse plastic grocery bags for collecting dog excrement and/or household wastes," Drohomerski writes. "If these bags were not available, residents may possibly purchase single use plastic bags for these purposes, therefore partially negating the positive aspects of the ban."

A ban would also result in the increased use of paper bags at retail stores, which would have "adverse environmental impacts of forestry operations," Drohomerski writes. He also states the city would require additional resources to enforce a ban.

His report comes before the public works committee on Tuesday.

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