Sooke residents will need to bring their own shopping bags to the grocery store starting May 22.

On Nov. 22, Sooke council adopted its checkout bag bylaw to reduce the volume of plastic bags in landfills.

Local businesses will be banned from using plastic bags at checkout.

Following provincial legislation, businesses must charge for paper and reusable checkout bags. The district’s bylaw sets a minimum of $0.25 for paper checkout bags provided at the point of sale and a minimum of $2 for reusable bags.

Businesses are permitted to implement a “take a bag, leave a bag” program for plastic checkout bags to reduce the financial impact on customers for whom the minimum charges for paper bags and reusable are prohibitive.

“We recognize this has already become a regular practice for many shoppers and a transition several local businesses have already made; thank you for your leadership. We are pleased to take one more step to reduce waste while caring for our natural environment,” said Mayor Maja Tait.

editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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