Campaign targets single-use items
With more than 200 people attending events during Waste Reduction Week,
With more than 200 people attending events during Waste Reduction Week, Zero Waste Yukon is kicking off a new campaign targeting single-use disposable items.
Last Wednesday’s film screening of Bag It attracted 60 people, and 150 people attended one of two talks by Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home and the inspiration for the global Zero Waste lifestyle movement.
Last Sunday evening’s event saw a full house at the MacBride Museum. Johnson gave visitors a glimpse into how she and her family manage to produce only a small jar of trash each year.
“It’s time we turn the interest and momentum into action,” said Ira Webb, Zero Waste Yukon’s program co-ordinator.
“People from across the territory are telling us they see the need for change. We are surrounded with unnecessary disposable items meant for just a single-use.
“Our landfills are filling up with disposable plastics and we see them litter our highways and wild spaces.”
Zero Waste Yukon’s campaign with a focus on single-use items will work to raise awareness and gather a community table of champions to build public support for policy solutions.
Some of the likely items to be targeted in this campaign are single-use retail bags, single-use plastic take-out containers and disposable cups.
“The average life of a shopping bag is just 12 minutes,” Webb said.
“We see single-use bags as a logical first target for new policy solutions that encourage people to choose reusable alternatives.”
The campaign will analyze data from the most recent City of Whitehorse Waste Composition Study.
It will also research successful campaigns in other jurisdictions such as Northwest Territories, where single-use retail bags are subject to a 25-cent fee.
Zero Waste Yukon will be hosting a stakeholders’ meeting at noon Thursday at the Whitehorse Public Library meeting room to begin laying the groundwork for the campaign.
Comments (8)
Up 10 Down 2
north_of_60 on Oct 26, 2018 at 12:35 pm
@My Opinion is flogging misinformation. Here's a reality check.
Eight million metric tons of plastic pollution end up in oceans every year. 3/8ths comes from rivers 5/8ths comes from coastal cities or ocean dumping.
ALL Rivers collectively dump about 3 million metric tons of plastic into the seas every year.
The 10 rivers that carry 93 percent of that RIVER trash are the Yangtze, Yellow, Hai, Pearl, Amur, Mekong, Indus and Ganges Delta in Asia, and the Niger and Nile in Africa. Those rivers could be dumping almost 1/3 [not 90%] of all the plastic in the oceans. The study shows this clearly.
https://docksci.com/export-of-plastic-debris-by-rivers-into-the-sea_59e62255d64ab2c25557e92b.html
Up 12 Down 1
My Opinion on Oct 26, 2018 at 5:52 am
So why don't these guys do something about the 10 rivers in Asia that contribute 90% of the plastic to our Oceans..... All I hear is crickets. Go after the real polluters. See link below.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stemming-the-plastic-tide-10-rivers-contribute-most-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans/
Up 4 Down 0
Josey Wales on Oct 25, 2018 at 10:55 pm
Dang-it....Allan, sorry I forgot an L in my post prior.
Up 6 Down 1
Josey Wales on Oct 25, 2018 at 10:44 pm
Yes Alan...back in the day.
Back then a tranny, was something in your car....back in the day.
When we had our wheaties packed for us, in paper bags.
Sure a bummer eh Alan, that we are subjected to so much chronic nonesense in these “progressive” times via zealots...the worst kind too...virtuous zealots at that.
I sometimes use a straw, and my mind...to critically think.
With those two duly noted, I must be exactly like Hitler...or the Donald ?
Up 17 Down 0
Max Mack on Oct 25, 2018 at 4:21 pm
"Our landfills are filling up with disposable plastics and we see them litter our highways and wild spaces."
Such complete, absolute and utter nonsense. The amount of "disposable plastic" (by that, I assume that Webb means "single-use plastics") is but a minuscule, tiny fraction of waste going to the Whitehorse landfill.
Should I also remind Webb and the rest of the "Zero Waste" adherents that Raven Recycling already takes plastics, including plastic shopping bags? We already give Raven millions of dollars of public money to recycle that plastic.
Not to mention the many good secondary uses of plastic "single-use" bags . . .
$0.25 for plastic bags? You think poor people and the "ignorant" masses can afford this insanity?
Up 18 Down 0
Groucho d'North on Oct 25, 2018 at 12:46 pm
With the recent complaints about excess and plastic packaging on marijuanna products sold through government outlets, It will be very interesting and telling how government reacts to improve on these packaging standards...if they do at all.
Up 17 Down 3
Josey Wales on Oct 24, 2018 at 11:00 pm
Man will the enviro-nazis ever take off their jackboots?
Condoms are single use too, or should we recycle and reuse those?
Tampons and other (factory default) lady nether region accessories as well...no mention?
Given the often zealot like ways of many self proclaimed stewards of the environment, and the never ending poke, poke, poke, blah blah, the sky is falling crap...we need more taxes and regulations they chronically bleat like sheep....regulation and government will save us....
Up 19 Down 1
Allan Stanley on Oct 24, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Back in the day groceries were packed in PAPER bags.