'Ditch the plastic': Single-use plastic bag bans expanding in Alberta

Devon bans plastic bags A new bylaw in Devon took effect New Year's day banning retailers from using single-use plastic shopping bas. Amanda Anderson reports.

EDMONTON — 'Ditch the plastic': Single-use plastic bag bans expanding in Alberta

The Town of Devon is the latest municipality to ban single-use plastic bags, asking residents to pack their bags and "ditch the plastic" to reduce waste.

The bylaw bans the distribution of plastic bags at all retail locations in Devon. It was passed six months ago and came into effect on Jan. 1.

There are some exemptions to the ban:

The town is providing two reusable bags to each household. The bags feature art selected through a local contest in 2019.

"Retail outlets are charging for the paper bags that they do have available so and that’s why we wanted to try and mitigate the cost for our residents to start this process off," explained Devon Mayor Ray Ralph.

"The paper is available but it’s not what we want people to use. We want people to use the recyclable bags, the re-useable bags," he added.

The town has also established a waste task force to explore other opportunities to reduce and reuse.

Wetaskiwin and Jasper banned single-use bags in summer 2019.

The City of Edmonton is working on a ban for 2021, as is the federal government.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson