Toronto Plastic Bag Ban Reprieve

Retailers in the Toronto area, and all of Ontario, can breathe a temporary sigh of relief as Toronto announced a reverse of the bag ban decision on November 28, 2012. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/11/28/toronto-plastic-bag-ban-vote-councillors.html

Without this eleventh hour decision, it was expected a By-Law would be passed and, effective January1, 2013, retailer would no longer be able to provide single-use plastic bags to customers.  Other than the loss of work in the plastics industry (a huge issue in itself), there was another concern - how could retailers be expected to find, purchase and implement non-plastic bags within one month?

I feared mass panic as retailers flooded suppliers with requests for paper bags or reusable bag alternatives.  It could easily have meant a bag shortage as suppliers worked to meet high demands for alternative products!

But, the issue is far from over.  Several years back, Toronto ordered all businesses to charge their customer five cents per plastic bag. The businesses kept the money and, in essence, it made larger retailers money by reducing their packaging costs. An additional side effect to the Toronto bag charge was that most major retailers (Metro, Shoppers, Loblaws) started charging for bags. As this bag charge went directly into the pockets of the businesses, I do not see any major business voluntarily eliminating the charge.

The issue of environmental damage also still exists.  Single-use plastic bags cause a lot of pollution and do not decompose for many, many years. Plastic is a problem.

On the other hand, switching to paper bags has its own issues:

• Paper bags are more expensive for retailers to purchase. A single plastic poly bag (9 x 12) costs about 5 cents versus a single 8 x 10 paper (kraft) bag with handles at 25 cents or more. [Note these costs are based on small quantities purchased] The cost of paper bags is significantly higher.
• Paper bags use more energy to produce.  Yes, studies have shown that paper bag production has its own environmental issues.
• Paper bags take up more room for storage.  A box of 250 paper bags takes a minimum of 5 times as much space as a box of 500 plastic bags.

Personally, I prefer the look of paper but it is not always effective for certain purchases and the cost plus storage is preventative.

Reusable bags are another great option but only work when the customer remembers to bring them.  Reusable bags are not great for POS or spur of the moment purchases.  There are also e coli concerns  that have arose from a lack of bag care - please wash your bags regularly!


As Toronto and other communities re-examine plastic bag use, I hope they will look at the type of plastic bags they are considering banning.  Plastic bags come in many styles and thicknesses and I know many of us will reuse thicker bags for garbage bin liners, diaper buckets, school lunches, lining snow boots and more! What I suggest, is that council look at a minimum bag thickness.

We have all visited grocery stores where the bags are so thin that they break before you get to the car. It is inevitable that these bags will have at least one hole in the bottom by the time you unpack them.  This type of bag is truly single-use.  Let's ban those bags and go back to the thick plastic bags that can be reused instead.

Toronto Plastic Bag Ban

In January, 2013, Toronto plans to officially launch a full ban on single use plastic bags. This means that retailers will no longer be able to provide customers with plastic carry-out bags for food, clothing or other product purchases.  Plastic bags will NOT be available for a five cent fee.  As of January, 2013, if Toronto council has its way, retailers will only be able to provide reusable bags (likely at a purchase cost) or paper bags.  In fact, offering a plastic bag could result in a fine for the retailer.  Consumers can also choose to use their own bags or reusable containers.

According to the City of Toronto, the plastic bags in question are as follows:

 http://www.toronto.ca/garbage/pdf/plastic_bag_consultation_presentation.pdf

"Single-Use Plastic Carryout (Shopping) Bag

A bag made of plastic film, designed to carry customer purchases from a retail business establishment but does not include: 

A. Bags used by customers inside retail business establishments to package bulk items such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy, or small hardware items such as nails and bolts;

B. Bags used to contain or wrap frozen foods, meat or fish, flowers or potted plants, whether pre-packaged or not;

C. Bags used to protect prepared foods or bakery goods;

D. Bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs;

E. Newspaper bags;

F. Door-hanger bags;

G. Laundry-dry cleaning bags; or

H. Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for such uses as garbage, pet waste, yard waste, recycling, or household organics" 

While we do need to reduce our use of single-use plastic bags, replacing these bags with paper bags may not be the answer.  Paper bags require more processing (costing more electricity and creating more pollution) and are more expensive to make.  Paper bags are also considerably more expensive for the retailer to purchase thus you may find extra mark-ups on product to offset higher costs.  

Reusable bags are also a great option to replace plastic bags.  Often, consumers can collect reusable bags at trade shows, events or by purchasing from a local retailer.  But, care must be taken to ensure these bags are kept clean.  Regular washing is mandatory for reusable bags, particular when used for groceries.  Another issue with reusable bags is the simple fact that we may forget them.  Many people simply forget to put the bags back in their vehicle, or forget to take them into the store.  How many of you have ran into a store for one item only to come out with a bagful?

The Toronto bag ban will be an interesting battle to watch.  The draft bylaw will be considered for enactment on November 27 or 28th, 2012. What happens at that point is still unknown as there will have to be some leniency and time for retailers to use up remaining bag stock and purchase new stock.  It can take weeks to have new paper and reusable bags custom printed with logos and/or manufactured.

We strongly advise Toronto area clients to consider your options now and wait til the end of November before placing any large plastic bag orders.