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INUVIK - There was seating for 50 and 100 comment forms but only one person turned out for a public meeting on town council's proposed bag ban last Thursday night at 7 p.m.

At an unrelated meeting the night before, council had discussed the fact that public turnout is usually dismal at events that coincide with bingo.

Turnout was smaller than expected at a town meeting to discuss the possibility of banning plastic shopping bags last Thursday night. Jane Baryluk was the only resident who came to hear the pros and cons of a possible bag ban. - Brodie Thomas/NNSL photo

The lone attendee, Jane Baryluk, said she didn't really have a comment but wanted to hear what others had to say on the issue.

For Coun. Terry Halifax, the low turnout is proof that the problem of plastic bags is a non-issue for most people in Inuvik.

"No one I've spoken with is really concerned about the bags," said Halifax.

Halifax said an all-out ban isn't necessarily a bad idea, but it does not address the larger waste management problems in Inuvik. He pointed to a methane fire at the town dump in December 2006 as a sign that too much organic waste is ending up in the landfill.

He said bag bans put all the work on the public and retailers while councillors take the credit.

"You see politicians all over the place jumping on this bandwagon because it's cheap and easy."

Halifax said he is against any bag tax that would have shoppers paying even more at the till. He would rather see shoppers rewarded for bringing reusable bags rather than taxed for not using them.

Before leaving the meeting, councillors discussed ways to get input from the public such as placing the comment sheets in stores and in post office boxes.

Although turnout was dismal, Mayor Derek Lindsay said he has been hearing comments from people on this matter. He said one person told him of finding the bags inside fish she had caught this past summer.

At a meeting with retail store managers and owners on Nov. 5, retailers said they are behind any initiative that would reduce litter, although their preference was for a move to biodegradable bags. Under that scenario, shoppers would pay a tax if they used the biodegradable bags. They would not have to pay extra if they brought their own reusable bags.

Bag bans have been popping up in one form or another around the world in the past two years. Ireland placed a country-wide tax on bags that has significantly reduced their use. The town of Old Crow, Yukon, banned them earlier this summer.