Would you pay for plastic grocery bags? Moncton residents are asked

Moncton, Dieppe, Riverview and the solid waste corporation Southeast Eco360 are surveying residents about reducing the use of single-use plastic bags in the region.

The 12-question survey asks residents what material people carry their groceries in, whether they'd be willing to pay for a single-use bag, how much they'd be willing to pay and whether they're concerned about the environmental impact of single-use plastic bags, among other questions. A similar survey is available for business owners to take as well. 

Gena Alderson, the waste diversion co-ordinator for Southeast Eco360, said the goal of the survey is to find out what residents and businesses are willing to do going forward.

"There's lots of different things that we have to look at and consider as a region before we put something like this in place," Alderson told Information Morning Moncton.

She said the survey has had almost 600 respondents within the first 24 hours it's been available. 

"We're seeing like 70 to 80 per cent of people are concerned about the environmental impact of plastic bags and would be interested in a ban."

Petition to ban

In May, a petition with 57 signatures asking for a ban on single-use plastic bags was brought to Moncton city council by Glenna Lightfoot and members of Vision United Church.

"It's common in other jurisdiction that once plastic bags are banned that they're still available sometimes, but you have to pay for it," Alderson said.

"The idea behind the fee is that it's just kind of an incentive to use your reusable bags instead of a single use."

Montreal banned single-use plastic bags in 2017 and Victoria banned plastic bags in July. Nova Scotia and P.E.I. have considered provincewide bans on plastic bags.

"With bans already happening across Canada, these companies now are a little bit more used to this," Alderson said.

The survey was launched Thursday and will be open until next Friday. 

"Whether it's plastic or paper or whatever, we want people to stay away from that single use," Alderson said.

"Less of them out there is always going to be good."