I read with delight Allen Roach's private member's bill to eliminate the single-use plastic bags from grocery stores in our province. A group of interested persons gathered in Charlottetown recently to recognize Earth Hour on March 24 with a prayer vigil. That evening we had a passionate discussion about plastic garbage in our province as well as the millions of tons of garbage in our oceans.
I wonder if Islanders are aware that more than 100 tons of plastic refuse is currently being stockpiled on P.E.I. because of a lack of market. This may be a short-term measure caused by a decision by China to stop accepting North American garbage. However, it drastically highlights the extreme amount of plastic that we Islanders discard.
So, we decided to make a petition to ask provincial and municipal governments to consider a ban on single-use plastic bags and present it to government by Earth Day which is April 22.
So now, on behalf of this group I want to express our thanks to Allen Roach who has our prayerful support as hopefully this motion moves forward to become an act of legislation. In eco-spiritual circles, this is called an environmentally virtuous action. Bravo.
Gemma Dunn, Earth Hour Reflection Group,
Charlottetown
