By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 16, 2019
A councillor looking for support Tuesday to declare a climate “emergency” in the City of Ottawa will also try to convince colleagues that they should hold off on a plan to allow plastic bags in the green bin.
Coun. Shawn Menard could have a hard time convincing councillors on the environment committee to recommend a delay to a reworked organics program, but he’s watching more scrutiny placed on single-use plastics and wonders if Ottawa is behind the times.
“What we are seeing is jurisdictions, which directly affect City of Ottawa planning, looking at this question more holistically,” Menard said. “If single-use plastics begin to be phased out in Ontario and Canada, why would we move in the opposite direction by encouraging more non-biodegradable plastic bag use in our organics stream?”
In March 2018, city council voted 19-3 to allow residents to put plastic bags in their green bins starting in mid-2019. That means plastic grocery bags — and all other plastic bags — can be reused to collect kitchen slop for the green bin.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/councillor-attempts-enviro-double-play-looks-to-declare-climate-emergency-and-delay-plastics-in-green-bin