Nain passes bag banning bylaw

The town of Nain has taken the next step in an environmental conservation effort that is the first of its kind in Newfoundland and Labrador.

At the latest meeting of the Nain Inuit Community Government, the councillors voted to pass a by-law that will ban the distribution of plastic shopping bags by businesses in the community.

The by-law, which was passed unanimously, will come into effect on Nov. 30, allowing businesses the time to get rid of their remaining supply of plastic shopping bags. This will also give the town council time to distribute reusable bags to the public.

This transition period began this summer when the Nain Inuit Community Government was approached by the local Northern store to pursue the initiative.

At that time the Nain Inuit Community Government had met with local business owners to discuss the proposed initiative, which was met with complete support.

Various organizations within the community, such as The Northern Store, Nunatsiavut's Department of Health and Social Development as well as Sikumiut Environmental Management, have also contributed to the environmentally conscious effort by donating reusable bags for distribution to the public.

Samantha Lyall, 17, of Nain witnessed firsthand the pollution that plastic bags created while working with the Nain Environmental Awareness Team this summer. As part of her job, she helped organize the annual beach clean-up where she had more than a few run-ins with a plastic bag.

"There were even some [plastic shopping bags] right under the mud and we had to dig them out,"Ms. Lyall said.

Ms. Lyall doesn't believe that this ban will have much of an impact when it comes time to do next year's beach clean-up.

"I don't think there's really much of a point [for the ban] because even if they use paper bags people are still going to litter and there is still going to be garbage all around," Ms. Lyall said.

Businesses in the community will still be able to offer the use of paper bags at a fee.

On the other side of the table, Charlene Johnson, the Minister of Environment and Conservation for the province, commends the community for undertaking the plastic bag-ban.

"I am very pleased to learn of the Nain Inuit Community Government's decision to pass a by-law banning the use of plastic bags," Minister Johnson said. "The actions of every community, every individual, go a long way in helping us make our province greener."

The by-law states "a person/business who contravenes this by-law" could face a fine of up to $1000.