SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The 25 cent bag levy that was supposed to come into force inside grocery stores Nov. 1, has been put off until Jan. 15, 2010 because devising regulations to support the levy is holding up proceedings, according to an official with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

John Alexander carts some groceries inside a plastic bag from the downtown Extra Foods on Friday. The store charges its own five cent fee for the bags, although the territorial government’s 25 cent levy has yet to come into effect. - Nikolett Popovics/NNSL photo

"We are developing a regulation under the Waste Reduction Recovery Act, a regulation specific for bags," said Ken Hall, manager of environmental protection.

He said the process is taking longer than expected, but once completed, grocery stores will be the first targets for the levy, while other retailers will be phased in over the next two years.

The levy was first announced by Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger in the legislative assembly last February.

Westfair Foods, owner of the two Extra Foods stores in Yellowknife, began charging a five cent fee for bags last May but that's unrelated to the government levy, and so far, no other stores in the city are charging for plastic bags.

Hall said the entire process of bringing in the bag levy cost about $250,000. He said the public education and information campaign was the most costly component.

"That's probably the biggest cost, letting people know why we're doing this and what's involved in the program," he said.

"Also, letting the distributors and retailers know what the program is going to look like and what their responsibilities are."

He said there will be a number of measures available to ensure retailers are abiding by the levy.

"If a retailer is not charging the fee then I think we'll hear about it pretty quickly, and we may also do some spot checks as well," said Hall.

He said responses to the levy from retailers and the public have been mixed.

"Certainly there's been a range of opinions on the development and implementation of the program," he said.

"I think it's fair to say that generally speaking, the public supports the program."

However, Hall said there is one message that keeps getting missed.

"It's not going to cost consumers anything if they chose not to ask for a bag," he said.

Penny Johnson, who had just finished shopping at the downtown Extra Foods on Wednesday, agreed with Hall's point, going on to say plastic bags should simply be done away with.

"We should do what Rossland, B.C., did, and ban them altogether," she said. "If you don't bring a cloth bag, you're out of luck.

The government, meanwhile, is celebrating after more than 100 million beverage containers have been returned to collection depots over the past four years as part of the Beverage Container Program.

The containers, made of plastic, aluminum and glass, are collected at three depots throughout the NWT, one of which is in Yellowknife, and then transported to the Yellowknife Processing Centre on Old Airport Road.