Alberta Premier Says Calgary Should Reconsider Single-Use Items Bylaws

Alberta’s premier is calling on the City of Calgary to rethink a bylaw that was designed to reduce waste from businesses. The single-use bylaw came into effect on Jan. 16, 2024, and requires restaurants, grocery stores, cafes, drive thrus, and retail shops to ask customers if they want single-use items like cutlery and napkins. These businesses are also required to charge 15 cents to customers who want a paper shopping bag, and that cost goes up to 25 cents in January 2025. Reusable shopping bags cost $1 for customers and will increase to $2 in January 2025, according to the bylaw. Edmonton has a similar bylaw that came into force on July 1, 2023, with the goal of reducing litter....