Achi news desk-
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has written to the president and CEO of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) asking for paper bags to be reintroduced at all locations.
The LCBO phasing out paper bags in September 2023, encouraging customers to bring a reusable bag or buy one. The policy was implemented to reduce the LCBO’s environmental impact and “create a more sustainable Ontario.”
On Sunday, Ford addressed the letter to George Soleas, asking the alcohol retailer to take immediate action and reverse course.
“At a time when many Ontario families are already struggling to make ends meet, every extra cost counts,” Ford wrote in the letter. “That includes charging customers for reusable bags instead of the free paper bags the LCBO previously offered. This change has left people stuck openly carrying alcohol in public when leaving an LCBO store.”
LCBO reusable bags currently cost $1.25 for a bag that can hold two bottles or $2.95 for one that can hold six bottles.
The LCBO said that eliminating paper bags would eliminate nearly 135 million annually, save the equivalent of 188,000 trees each year, and divert more than 2,600 tons of waste from landfills.
Ford wrote that the environmental effects of reusable bags are “dubious at best.”
“Paper bags are an easily recyclable alternative to single-use plastic, which is why the LCBO adopted them in the first place,” continued the Premier.
“As a government, we are focused on making life easier, more convenient, and more affordable for the people of Ontario. The decision to get rid of paper bags has had the opposite effect.
“I am asking you to reverse your decision and work with our government to make shopping at the LCBO as convenient an experience as possible for customers while keeping costs down for the people of Ontario,” Ford wrote.
The LCBO permanently eliminated plastic bags 15 years ago.
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