4th Session, 41st Legislature

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Bill 244

THE WASTE REDUCTION AND PREVENTION AMENDMENT ACT (REDUCING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS)

(Assented to                                         )

WHEREAS single-use plastics, including plastic checkout bags, are a visible component of waste throughout the province;

AND WHEREAS single-use plastics have a negative impact on our wildlife habitat and on the environment;

AND WHEREAS cleaning up single-use plastics costs a significant amount each year;

AND WHEREAS businesses could reduce merchandise costs by not supplying certain single-use plastics, including plastic checkout bags and drinking straws;

AND WHEREAS using multi-use shopping bags and containers reduces waste and reminds people of the positive environmental impact of recycling;

THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. W40 amended

1

The Waste Reduction and Prevention Act is amended by this Act.

2

Section 4 is amended by renumbering it as subsection 4(1) and adding the following as subsection 4(2):

Strategy for eliminating single-use plastics

4(2)

The report under subsection (1) must include a plan for meeting the requirements of section 18.2, and for that purpose, the plan must identify measurable targets and set out time lines for eliminating the distribution and supply of single-use plastics in Manitoba by 2025.

3

The following is added after section 18.1:

Plastic checkout bags and straws prohibited

18.2(1)

Beginning January 1, 2021, a retailer must not sell or give away a plastic checkout bag or a plastic drinking straw.

Other single-use plastics prohibited

18.2(2)

Beginning January 1, 2025, a retailer must not sell or give away

(a) expanded polystyrene foam containers intended for a single use for food or beverages;

(b) items made from oxo-degradable or oxo-fragmentable plastics that are intended for a single use;

(c) disposable coffee cups; or

(d) plastic water bottles intended for a single use.

Definitions

18.2(3)

The following definitions apply this section.

"plastic checkout bag" means a non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic bag made from petroleum products that is provided or made available by a retailer to a consumer at the point of sale. (« sac de caisse en plastique »)

"plastic drinking straw" means a non-recyclable and non-biodegradable plastic straw made from petroleum products. (« paille en plastique »)

Coming into force

4

This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.