As merchants in the City of Victoria begin the new reality for plastic bag regulations, the winners in a video contest aimed at convincing shoppers to make different choices are being honoured.
The winning filmmakers, as judged by a panel, were recognized during a gathering at The Fort Common last week, and attendees got a chance to view the creative ways in which they got the message across.
Ideas ranged from a young woman B次元官网网址渂reaking upB次元官网网址� with plastic bags (LeahB次元官网网址檚 Ditching Plastic Bags, all ages and PeopleB次元官网网址檚 Choice winner), to an animated short featuring a bag-making machine (The Reusable Story, youth winner, to tips for remembering to bring reusable bags (10 Tips in 60 Seconds for BYO Bags!, honourable mention).
Levi Hildebrand, who produced LeahB次元官网网址檚 Ditching Plastic Bags, drew applause when he told the crowd they would use the $500 PeopleB次元官网网址檚 Choice prize to help continue the cause of reducing and removing plastic bags and other debris from the ocean environment.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e planning to team up with Surfrider (Foundation) and weB次元官网网址檙e going to take that money and launch a big beach cleanup,B次元官网网址� he said.
The winning videos and finalists are up on the CityB次元官网网址檚 website at .
The bylaw that went into effect July 1 allows city merchants a grace period during which they may use up the plastic bags they have in stock B次元官网网址� as long as they were purchased before last December. That lasts until Jan. 1, 2019, after which no more plastic bags can be provided to customers, outside of the specialty categories listed in the bylaw.
Rachael Montgomery, Victoria chapter chair for the Surfrider Foundation B次元官网网址� its members were among the first to lobby the City to make the change B次元官网网址� joked that the plastic bagB次元官网网址檚 life in Victoria will officially end at age 40 come Jan. 1. Getting to this point, she added on a more serious note, was the result of her group and others being listened to by council and City staff and that debate around the issue was allowed to take place.
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Fraser Work, the CityB次元官网网址檚 director of engineering and public works, said that during discussions with stakeholders in the leadup to the creation and approval of the new regulation, B次元官网网址淭here was one thing that everybody agreed: reusable is best.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淣o one was refuting that sentiment, no one was challenging that sentiment,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he transition on how to get there B次元官网网址� was always up for debate, but that one truth stayed strong in our dialogue.B次元官网网址�
Dan Dagg, chair of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and a judging panel member, applauded everyone involved in the process for taking steps that will enhance life here for future generations. B次元官网网址淭he success of something like this is dependent on everyone embracing it: citizens, businesses, stakeholders; we all need to adopt and move forward willingly to change and this is an initiative that will do that,B次元官网网址� he said.
At the gathering, Mayor Lisa Helps gleefully told the crowd that the Province of Prince Edward Island recently adopted the CityB次元官网网址檚 bylaw, B次元官网网址渨ord for word,B次元官网网址� to create provincial legislation. She tossed out a challenge for the region and the Province of British Columbia to do the same, as a way to make the strategy easier to implement.
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The City has created a for merchants to better understand the new bylaw, with tips on how to make the switch. A consumer-friendly version featuring ways to reduce single-use plastic bags can be found at .
