Italian Centre Shop agrees with move away from plastics

Local grocer on board with plastic ban The Italian Centre Shop agrees with Ottawa's decision to ban single-use plastics. CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk reports.

Teresa Spinelli’s Italian Centre shops have been a part of Edmonton for 60 years, and lately she has been thinking about what she will leave behind for others.

The federal government’s announcement about moving to a ban in single-use plastics by 2021, at the earliest, is a move she agrees with.

"I think it’s going in the right direction," Spinelli, the president of Italian Centre Shop, told CTV News Edmonton. "I think the whole world is going there eventually and I think that Canada is ahead of the game.”

The Italian Centre started to charge customers five cents for plastic bags recently. Of all her locations, Spinelli didn’t know how regulars at her original location in Little Italy would react.

“I was a little bit worried; mostly worried about this store because it’s immigrant based and more old-school customers, but it was OK.”

Sales of reusable burlap bags have picked up as a result, Spinelli said.

The Italian Centre has also moved away from plastic knives and forks back to metal at their cafes. The move comes with a greater cost and theft, but Spinelli says it’s worth it if it makes a difference for future generations.

“I hope that we leave earth a better planet. I hope that we leave my great, great, great, great grandchildren something great to enjoy...more greenspace, less plastics, less pollution—all that kind of stuff.”