**** Environment Media Release
ENVIRONMENT–Province to Ban Plastic Bags
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Nova Scotians want to do more to help protect our environment and keep plastics out of our lakes, waterways and oceans. Government wants to do more, too – that’s why it is banning single-use plastic bags.
New legislation introduced today, Sept. 26, would see Nova Scotia ban single-use plastic checkout bags in a year. The legislation will also allow government to regulate other single-use plastic items in the future.
If passed, industry will have a year to prepare for the legislation. Retailers will still be allowed to use single-use plastic bags for live fish and bulk items. There will also be exemptions for food banks and charities. The legislation won’t require retailers to charge for alternatives to plastic bags.
“Nova Scotians are already leaders in protecting the environment and they want us to do more,” said Gordon Wilson, Minister of Environment. “We agree, it’s time to move forward. This ban will help keep plastic out of our landfills, our waterways and our environment.”
Quotes:
“We welcome this announcement. Banning plastic bags is a step in reducing our use of plastic and preventing the contamination of our water, soil and food. By far the best replacement is a reusable bag, used many times over.”
– Mark Butler, policy director, Ecology Action Centre
“This is great news. Single-use plastics are a concern for many Nova Scotians, so we’re very pleased to see Nova Scotia move toward a provincewide ban on checkout bags.”
– Scott Skinner, president and CEO, Clean Foundation
Quick Facts:
— Nova Scotians sent an average of 423 kilograms of waste per capita to landfills in 2017-18. That’s almost half the waste Canadians dispose of, on average
— the province has set one of the most ambitious targets in the country for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: 45 to 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030
— the amount of energy from coal is down from 76 per cent in 2007 to 52 per cent in 2018
— Nova Scotia is on track to meet 40 per cent renewable energy for electricity by 2020
— energy efficiency programs prevent one million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year
** Sobeys Media Release
Sobeys Inc. announced that it will remove plastic grocery bags from all Sobey’s grocery stores by the end of January 2020. The change will take 225 million plastic grocery bags out of
circulation at Sobeys’ 255 locations across Canada each year.
The move represents an important first step in the retailer’s journey towards eliminating unnecessary plastic from grocery stores. Starting with eliminating plastic grocery bags from Sobeys stores in 2020, the company will quickly follow with phasing out plastic grocery bags and introducing paper bags in all
other banners including Safeway, FreshCo, Foodland and others.
The most immediate next step the
Company will take will be to remove plastic grocery bags from IGA stores on Montreal Island in Quebec. IGA will also launch a campaign in September 2019 to encourage reusable bag adoption.
“So many of our customers and our employees have told us loud and clear — they want us to use less plastic — and we agree with them,” said Michael Medline, President and CEO, Empire. “This is a first step, and we plan to make meaningful progress every year to take plastic out of our stores and our
products. We decided to act now instead of taking years to study and only make long-term commitments.
We’re taking action now, making a tangible difference today and into the future. This is a significant first step, but it’s only a first step. We need to go further, and we will.”
While the plastic grocery bags are phased out of each Sobeys banner, the retailer will launch innovative and unique programs to reduce plastics in other areas of the store and encourage customers to choose reusable bags that can be used repeatedly and returned for recycling at Sobeys stores.
In August, in the produce aisle, Sobeys will introduce a line of reusable mesh produce bags made
from recycled water bottles to provide customers with an alternative for their fresh produce. The reusable mesh produce bags were launched in IGA in Quebec in June and received highly
positive feedback from customers.
Sobeys has started phasing unnecessary plastic from snacking tomatoes in their Sobeys Urban
Fresh store locations in Toronto. Customers are provided with recyclable paper bags which they can use to carry their tomatoes.
IGA stores on Montreal Island will launch a campaign in September 2019 to
encouragereusable bag adoption, including:
o Designated parking spots for customers who bring reusable bags
o Promotional IGA offers on reusable bags and boxes to encourage customer use
“It’s time for change, and we will not stop innovating and bringing to market new ways to removea voidable plastic from retail,” said Vittoria Varalli, Vice President, Sustainability. “We are working with ouri ndustry partners and key stakeholders on eradicating plastics from the system. There are many factors to balance like food waste and food safety when assessing the need for packaging in the grocery retail supply chain. It will take a collective effort to drive real, meaningful change for the future.”
As part of its commitment to reducing plastics, Sobeys is partnering with student organization Enactus
Canada on a community empowerment project accelerator, challenging young Canadians to find innovative solutions to reduce avoidable plastics for grocery retailers and Canadian consumers while
also encouraging behavioural change as it is related to avoidable plastics.
Forward-Looking Information
This document contains forward-looking statements which are presented for the purpose of assisting the reader to contextualize the Sobeys Inc. financial position and understand management’s
expectations regarding the removal of plastic bags. These forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are identified by words or phrases such as “estimates”, “plans”, “predicts”, “anticipates”, “forecasts” and other similar expressions or the negative
of these terms.
By its nature, forward-looking information requires the Company to make assumptions and is subject to
inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made. For more information on risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may impact the Company’s forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the “Risk Management” section of the Sobeys Inc. fiscal 2019 annual MD&A.