The provincial government recently enacted legislation to ban the use of single-use plastic shopping bags in P.E.I. This legislation is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2019. (Early reports indicated it would take effect July 1, 2018 – this was later changed to 2019.)
The Chamber will participate in a consultation process, expected to take place this fall, to ensure the voice of business is heard in the development of the regulations specific to this new law and will continue to share relevant information with members to help support the transition away from single-use plastic shopping bags.
The ban of single-use plastic bag legislation taking effect on July 1, 2019, states no business shall:
- sell or provide to a customer a plastic bag; or
- provide a checkout bag to a customer free of charge
It further states a business may provide a checkout bag to a customer only if:
- the customer is first asked whether, and confirms that they need a bag(s);
- the bag provided is a paper bag or a reusable bag; and
- the customer is charged a fee no less than 15 cents for a paper bag, and $1 for a reusable bag.
Exemptions to this law and are outlined on Page 4, Section 5 of the legislation.
To share feedback on these changes, please e-mail Sheryl at smacaulay@insighttestsite.com.