Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The results are in and an overwhelming majority of callers support a ban on single-use plastic bags.

From April 13-20, Yellowknifer hosted a phone-in telephone poll asking people whether they would support such a ban.

Of the 110 people who called, 89 said they'd support such a ban.

Here's what some of the callers had to say:

"We use cloth bags as much as physically possible. We keep them in our vehicle, and that's just the best way of making sure you always have them when you go grocery shopping."

"We absolutely need to look to the future. Yellowknife seems to be a group of fairly progressive young people who know the outcome of climate change and the effects, and we can make a change ourselves."

"I strongly support the banning of single use plastic bags in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. I think it's time we acted on this."

"I'd like to nominate Walt Humphries for sainthood. In terms of plastic bags, we have not used them in our household for many, many years. We use cloth bags, boxes, or a plastic carton that we keep in our car at all times, or on our person.

The second things is many people in Yellowknife grew up before single use plastic bags and know we can get along without them. In the home, we line our garbage with plastic that has already come into our home from 24 roll toilet paper bags or other plastic that would be thrown out anyway, or it is equally as sensible to use a plastic containers and drop it into your larger garbage can and wash it out after each use. "

"I also believe that cloth bags should be made of clothing that people take to the dump or that they don't want anymore, instead of making them landfill."

"We have been using the cloth bags from the Co-op for many years, and it would be a small step to carry them when we do other kinds of shopping as well.

"I think it's a great idea to do away with the plastic bags."

"I already use re-usable bags, and I'm happy to do so and I think it would be great if Yellowknife would take the lead in the Northwest Territories, and also be one of the first cities in Canada, to implement such a bylaw. It would be great and I would welcome it."

"I don't support the ban of single use plastic bags, because I use them as garbage bags. If the manufacturers were to provide more grocery bag friendly containers to use the bags as garbage bags, then we wouldn't have to buy garbage bags."

"I have been to communities in India that ban plastic bags. The stores were doing fine and the communities were much cleaner than any of the other ones around. I think it's a great idea that's pretty easy once you try it."

"I support a ban on the plastic bags, and as an interim phase-in period, I think there should be a charge, maybe a five-cent charge per bag, that will encourage people to bring their own. Then eventually phase them out."

"Perhaps our misguided, tree hugging city council could look into things like 911 service or all the crack heads wandering around downtown instead worrying about people who put their groceries in a plastic bag.

To the councillors that are talking about all the grocery bags floating around downtown, perhaps they should be doing something about the pigs that litter instead of some poor plastic grocery bag floating around."

"Everybody in my household supports the ban on plastic bags. We hope everybody starts to use regular grocery bags or hockey bags or boxes. Things other than plastic!"

"I think plastic bags should be banned, they look really ugly in the ditches and hanging up in the trees. We use re-usable diapers and we even recycle our toys."

"This is a great idea. We see too many of these in the bushes or on the side of the road. Everywhere you go, you are all by yourself ... it feels like you might be somewhere that nobody's gone before, but then you see a plastic bag."