École Monseigneur Blaise Morand school (EMBM) students Leah Beausoleil, left, and Addyson Nyholt speak at North Battleford City Hall Monday asking to have single-use plastic bags banned. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Environmental concern

Youth asking for ban on single-use plastic bags

May 16, 2019 | 8:00 AM

Two Grade 6 students from École Monseigneur Blaise Morand school (EMBM) are asking the city to eliminate single-use plastic bags in North Battleford.

Leah Beausoleil and Addyson Nyholt presented at North Battleford City Hall, Monday saying the use of single-use plastic bags contributes to a greater environmental issue, affecting the planet.

“We’ve been doing a class project with the idea to change the world,” Beausoleil said. “The fact that we are here tonight demonstrates that two people can start the discussions towards making a difference.”

The students said the average single-use plastic bag is only used for 20 minutes, but it takes more than 400 years for the material to break down, based on their study.

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Currently, single-use plastic bags are filling up the city’s landfill since they can’t be recycled.

Following council, Mayor Ryan Bater said it’s a topical issue.

“Plastic bags have been around for a lot of us our entire lives,” he said. “Now you can’t recycle them, and there are some voices within the community to actually have the bags banned.”

The mayor said the issue of plastic bags is part of a bigger discussion taking place across Canada. He added he believes cities in Saskatchewan and the province should all be discussing the issue together, and looking to see if any work on the matter is being done elsewhere.

He said there are challenges for a single community trying to ban the bags alone, unless the effort can be undertaken by a number of communities in the province as a collective plan.

Bater said he planned to discuss the issue at a mayors’ meeting he was attending this week.

“I’d like to see it as part of a provincial discussion,” Bater said.

—

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW