City staff will draft a bylaw that would outlaw plastic bags in Saint John by next summer.
The bylaw closely follows a motion recommended by the Fundy Regional Service Commission for regional municipalities to ban the bags by June 30, 2021.
Councillor David Hickey tabled the motion, which he believes is part of the city remaining on the forefront of the fight against climate change.
“It puts us that much closer on that track of banning single-use plastics as a whole community, and as a preparation for what the federal government will be bringing forward by the end of 2021,” Hickey said.
Last week, the Fundy Regional Service Commission, in conjunction with the Saint John Chamber of Commerce, released a survey saying 75 per cent of businesses in the region supported banning plastic bags.
“We’re a community that wants to be on the forefront of decisions like this, that wants to be a green community, that wants to commit to fighting climate change firsthand, and dealing with our excessive waste,” Hickey said at Monday’s meeting.
Moncton and its surrounding municipalities enacted a similar ban on plastic bags beginning October 1.
