This is the text of a Motion put forward by Councillor Menard this week.  It will be discussed at the next Standing Committee Meeting.  Please let your Councillor know your views. 

WHEREAS climate change and environmental degradation pose an existential threat to the city of Ottawa; and

WHEREAS the city is attempting to reduce the amount of waste that is shipped to municipal landfills; and

WHEREAS the reliance on single-use plastics is a significant contributor to waste in landfills and environmental degradation; and

WHEREAS cities throughout Canada and the world are looking into means of reducing or eliminating reliance on single use plastics; and

WHEREAS city staff are currently developing a new waste management roadmap; and

WHEREAS the city has not yet provided studies or data to demonstrate the amount of contamination of compost the introduction of plastic bags to the green bin will produce, nor how the introduction of plastic bags to the green bin will affect the usage rates of single-use plastic bags; and

WHEREAS other means of increasing the green bin Participation Rate, including, but not limited to, introducing green bins to more apartment buildings, conducting extensive public education campaigns, limiting the number of garbage bags a resident may have collected without additional cost, or a combination thereof have not been fully explored or implemented;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Ottawa refrain from the introduction of single-use plastic bags into the green bin until such time that research into the effect of introducing single-use plastic bags to the green bin have been presented and fully considered by the Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management.