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To: Minister of Municipal Affairs & Environment Andrew Parsons

Ban plastic bags in Newfoundland and Labrador

Pass legislation to ban retail stores from providing customers with single-use plastic bags.

Why is this important?

Right now, Canadians are using over 9 BILLION plastic bags every year - that's enough bags to circle the Earth more than 55 times. [1] We need to ban plastic bags now!

Plastic in our oceans is having devastating effects on marine life, and plastic bags that break down into microplastics are making their way into the fish and shellfish that we eat, and the water that we drink. [2][3][4]

The Province of PEI have introduced a Plastic Bag Reduction Act which would work in phases to eventually eliminate single-use plastic bags from shops — encouraging them to use paper and cloth bags instead. It's time for every other province in Canada to do the same. [5]

If we don't take action to cut down our plastic waste, by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish.[6] Sign the petition now, and demand that plastic bags be banned.

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[1]https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-ban-on-single-use-plastic-shopping-bags-to-begin-in-july-1.3726946

[2]http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/microplastics-fish-shellfish-1.3954947
[3] http://nationalpost.com/health/global-study-finds-microplastics-in-93-of-bottled-water-but-little-known-about-effect-on-humans
[4]http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/09/06/world-tap-water-plastic_a_23199390/

[5] https://globalnews.ca/news/3940536/no-more-plastic-bags-in-montreal-first-major-canadian-city-to-implement-ban/

[6] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf

Newfoundland and Labrador

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Updates

2018-08-19 08:37:09 -0400

50 signatures reached

2018-08-18 15:35:11 -0400

25 signatures reached

2018-08-18 13:11:47 -0400

10 signatures reached