Coronavirus concerns have led to a temporary lifting of Thompson's single-use plastic bag ban that has been in effect since the first day of 2011.
“We've received inquiries from businesses who are wary of accommodating reusable bags during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the City of Thompson in a Facebook post April 3. “Businesses in the City of Thompson are permitted to use single-use plastic bags during the pandemic. Once the pandemic has subsided, the single-use ban will be in place once again.”
Several types of bags have always been exempt from the bylaw, including bags used within stores to package items such as fruit, nuts, candy and small hardware items, bags used to hold frozen foods, meat, flowers or potted plants, bags used to protect bakery items, bags used by pharmacists to hold prescription drugs, door-hanger bags, dry-cleaning bags, and bags sold to be used as garbage and waste bags.
The drive to ban single-use plastic bags in Thompson began in 2009.
Leaf Rapids was the first community in Canada to ban single-use plastic bags outright.
