Montreal's Plastic Bag Ban Officially Starts This Week With More Bans On The Way

Starting Tuesday, September 27, plastic bags will be banned at Montreal restaurants and stores, even for take-out and delivery services. The city council first adopted the measure in September 2021. It will apply to the city's 19 boroughs but not to other Montreal Island municipalities, which may institute bans of their own.

In a September 26 press release, the city said that, currently, only about 16% of plastic bags make it all the way through the disposal process. The rest can end up drifting through the environment, threatening animal welfare, destroying the ecological balance and inspiring bad Katy Perry lyrics. A real hazard.

Montreal also says the ban will lead to higher quality recycling in local centres.

In a statement, Mayor Valérie Plante called the ban a "testament" to her administration's "firm commitment to accelerate Montreal's ecological transition and to provide environmental leadership, both locally and internationally." She expressed hope that other municipalities will follow Montreal's lead.

More single-use plastic bans are on the way too. Next March, the city plans to officially end the sale and distribution of plastic trays (except for meat and fish products), single-use plastic plates, utensils, containers, lids, cups, stir sticks and straws.

The bans put Montreal a year ahead of the rest of Canada. The federal government will start enforcing a nationwide ban on the sale of single-use plastic bags, cutlery, sticks, many straws and food containers in December 2023. The manufacture and importation of these products will end in December 2022.

A ban on the distribution of plastic rings for carrying drinks and straws attached to juice boxes will follow in June 2024.

There will be exceptions for medical and accessibility purposes.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.