Plastic shopping bags are once again under scrutiny from Victoria City Council.
This all comes after, back in 2015, councilors voted to explore ways to squash plastic bag use in stores. Since then city staff have been investigating and have now come up with some recommended ways forward, but moving to any kind of immediate ban is not something they suggest doing.
Instead, the staff report to be discussed by councilors on Thursday suggests the city should encourage citizens and businesses to lead the way on public awareness and voluntary programs to reduce plastic bag use. They also suggest a contest to design a "City of Victoria" reusable bag. The staff report to council cautions that city hall doesn't have the time or resources to lead an awareness and engagement campaign itself without taking away from other work.
The report warns that moving to a ban or some sort of tax on single use plastic shopping bags would require the city to come up with some way to administer and pay for such a program.