Another plastic bag ban is in the works, this time in Atlantic Canada.

Government officials in Nova Scotia have introduced legislation to ban single-use plastic bags across the province by next fall. The Plastic Bags Reduction Act – Bill 152 will also give the government the option to include other single-use plastic items in the prohibition at a later date.

“It’s going to change the way that we go to grocery stores,” said environment minister Gordon Wilson, who introduced the bill, at the Nova Scotia Province House. “It’s going to have people thinking differently about plastics. So I’m very excited about this as an opportunity for us to move forward.”

Nova Scotia is banning the bag. Today the province introduced legislation to eliminate single-use plastic checkout bags. #BanTheBag #ReduceReuseRecycle #WasteLess pic.twitter.com/Pnkr38jL2M

— NS Environment (@ns_environment) September 26, 2019

The proposed legislation does contain exemptions, including single-use plastic bags used to transport live fish, bulk items and dry cleaning, and the film used as tire wrap. Food banks and charities will be exempt from the ban, and businesses will also not be required to charge a fee for alternative bag options.

“Nova Scotians are already leaders in protecting the environment and they want us to do more,” said Wilson in a press release. “We agree, it’s time to move forward. This ban will help keep plastic out of our landfills, our waterways and our environment.”

The Halifax-based Ecology Action Centre was present for the bill’s introduction in front of the provincial legislature. “Now plastic bags are a relatively small proportion of the waste stream, but when it comes to the environment and wildlife I think they have a bigger impact,” said policy director Mark Butler. “We’ve all seen plastic bags caught up in trees on beaches … so plastic bags can have a disproportionate impact on wildlife.”

With corporate social responsibility increasingly becoming a pillar of brands’ core values, the ban has been welcomed by many retailers in Nova Scotia, said Jim Cormier of the Retail Council of Canada.

“We understand that everybody has an environmental footprint,” he told reporters after the bill’s introduction. “Our members do as well, and we’re working to ensure that we reduce that footprint.”

Last week, Victoria, B.C., announced that it’s taking a city bylaw banning plastic bags to the Supreme Court of Canada, after the B.C. Court of Appeals struck it down because the city failed to seek provincial approval before putting it into effect.

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